


fallen leaves

by orphan_account



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Teachers, Happy Ending, M/M, Slow Build, cisco is the new chem teacher and harry is a physics teacher who becomes smitten, leave some comments and ill read em, so its a, this has some relationship hints of the other characters but mainly its harry and cisco, uMM yeah this seems fun i hope yall enjoy!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-17
Updated: 2018-12-06
Packaged: 2019-08-24 19:41:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 28,625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16646477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Harry Wells is a physics teacher and he knows his life and routine. When a new chemistry teacher come into the science wing, Harry's routine becomes a tad skewed and not unlike those high school teenagers, Harry finds himself developing feelings for Cisco, unsure if the other man feels the same. Their lives intertwine in school and outside of it as they become closer and soon something blooms between them.





	1. laughing gas

            “Make sure you actually do the pages in the textbook,” Harry said with a wave of his hand, “not just take pictures of it.”

            He sighed and shuffled out of the way of the multiple teenagers leaning over their desks taking pictures of the scribbled information on the blackboard. Harry scowled at them in his head. _It’s just as easy to write it down,_ he thought. He refrained from saying it aloud because though he put up a cold and tough front, teenagers did scare him a little. They had a tendency to argue to the point where either they win or the other person gives up in frustration. It was admirable.

            Harry’s gaze landed on eyes similar to his. Jesse was trying to get a picture from between the several bodies in front of her. Harry lifted a brow in judgement when Jesse noticed him. She stuck out her tongue but finally gave up with a sigh and instead turned to the girl beside her, asking if she could send her the homework. Harry rolled his eyes as the bell rang loudly, followed by the familiar scuffle of students as they hurried out the door. As usual, Jesse stayed behind.

            “Ready for the test next week?” Harry asked, fully knowing she was. Of course, she was his top student.

            “You know,” Jesse began, rolling her eyes as she stuffed a binder into her backpack, “you don’t _have_ to act like a teacher all the time, _Mr Wells_.”

            “Well then, you better study for that test, young lady,” Harry replied sarcastically, gaining yet another eye roll. Jesse walked around her desk, swivelling a tap on the way.

            “Don’t do that! You’ll make them leak,” Harry said sternly as he gave her a quick hug. Jesse grunted and with a nonchalant wave, walked out the door. Harry sighed. It’d been a long day and he’d only just had his first class. Taking off his glasses and rubbing his eyes, Harry groaned at the thought of prepping for his grade 9 class. He didn’t know which was more tedious, teaching a bunch of academic level grade 12s physics or grade 9s basic science. In the end, they both were both quite childish. _Aren’t they supposed to mature through high school,_ Harry thought.

            The dark-haired man groaned inwardly as the 5-minute bell went off. He still had a 45-minute lunch before his science class but those minutes usually seemed a lot shorter. Like clockwork, Harry made his way out of his class, locking the door behind him, and heading past the rest of the science wing until he reached the science office. The hallways smelt vaguely of burnt something, most likely due to the chemistry class. As he stepped into the small room, a familiar face lifted to greet hello. Harry grunted weakly in response.

            “Tough day, huh,” the girl’s brunette hair bouncing as she turned in her chair to face the doorway, “remember, it’s Wednesday! Only three more days!”

            “That’s not very reassuring, Snow,” Harry said as he plopped down on an old chair in front of his computer, “in fact it has exactly the opposite effect.”

            Caitlin Snow was the grade 11 and 12 biology teacher. Though she tried to cheer up Harry’s mood, most days it didn’t work. What did work, however, was the optimism on her face. It’s almost like you couldn’t help but feel better in her presence. A nickname for her had formed throughout the school that the kids used when they thought the teachers couldn’t hear. Anti-Wells was her name. Harry didn’t find it offensive as it was perfectly accurate. On a particularly nasty day, Harry wasn’t exactly Mr Sunshine—well, that was most days. To Harry’s knowledge, Snow was the popular science teacher amongst the kids, not him. It didn’t really bother him, however, since he knew that he was a good teacher. It was clear that when he taught, he spoke passionately and clearly enough that the kids were interested in it as well. Though Harry wouldn’t admit it, the looks on their faces when he blew their mind with everyday physics and how things worked was very rewarding.

            “Sorry,” Caitlin said sheepishly, “I’ll get you a coffee to make it up.”

            Harry began to argue but realized that Snow was nearly out the door anyway. With a sigh, Harry opened a large black binder in front of him. Before he began, Harry took a deep breath to focus. Though usually, he was quite organized, sometimes he moved too fast and ended up misplacing things—and by sometimes he meant all the time. Skimming through the contents of the binder, Harry organized a teaching plan for that day. He knew the information by heart but he had to make sure he didn’t forget something. Along with misplacing things, he often went on tangents that digressed from what he was supposed to teach. To his credit, the kids enjoyed his tangents.  

            Realizing he needed to make photocopies of an assignment, Harry mumbled mild complaints as he pushed himself up and grabbed the piece of paper. Making his way to the library, Harry passed a group of hooded, angsty teenagers and a couple making out in a doorway. He barely noticed them as he walked quickly down the stairs from the science wing to the hallway leading to the library and math classes. He turned left and stepped into the library, making sure no teachers noticed him. He wasn’t in the mood for small talk.

            The library was one of his favourite parts of the small school. There were great big windows directly in your sight as soon as you walked in that showed the brightly coloured leaves of the autumn trees. The brilliant hues tinted the floors a slight red and yellow colour. Harry admired it briefly as he slipped into the photocopier room. The dreadful grey machine was an unpleasant contrast from the leaves.

            Harry’s slender fingers tapped impatiently on the now screeching machine as it forced out slightly faded copies. They definitely needed a new one. A sudden loud scratch from the machine made Harry flinch slightly before he realized that meant the machine had either finally given up or his copies were finished. Quickly counting them, Harry made his way out of the room and nearly dropped all the fresh copies as he came to a sudden halt in front of a shorter figure. A yelp came from the student in front of him as he took a step back. The kid looked worried when Harry’s gaze met with his.

            “I’m not sure you’re supposed to be back here,” Harry’s voice dropped low. He decided to have some fun. “Unless you’re prepping for a class, which I highly doubt.”

            The poor kid fumbled over his words as he backed away even further. He twiddled his thumbs and stared at the ground, hoping it would save him.

            “Yes, uh, Mr Wells, I was supposed to, uh, use the paper cutter for the new bookmarks.”     

            The kid held laminated papers in his hands and Harry felt kind of bad at how nervous he looked. Harry didn’t think he was _that_ intimidating. Maybe it was his first day here, though he did look a little familiar.

            “Of course,” Harry replied, offering a smile, “It’s in the corner over there.”

            “T-Thank you, sir!” The kid hurried past him, his anxiety alleviated. Harry stood in the doorway as he once again admired the brightness of the leaves. Shame it’d only last for a couple of weeks.

 

            ----

            The couple who were previously trying to eat each other's faces off were now in a yelling contest. Harry contemplated just not going to the science office to avoid dealing with them. They were yelling too loud to just walk past and, at that moment, Harry would have taken a lecture from his daughter than break the shit fest that would greet him. Reluctantly, he gave in and made his way up the stairs, his long legs allowing him to take them two at a time with ease. Thankfully, the kids heard him and immediately screwed their mouths shut, the girl’s lipstick smudged and her arms crossed while the boy looked on the verge of tears. Harry flashed an awkward smile as he quickly turned into the office. Fortunately, the students remained quiet.

            This time, Harry couldn't keep his composure as he threw the pages onto his desk and cursed.

            “Watch your profanity,” A gleeful voice jolted Harry back into reality.

            The shorter man in front of him looked around the room, admiring the small space as if it was much more impressive than a binder filled cave of science. Harry narrowed his eyes suspiciously as he glared at the man, who seemed impervious to Harry studying him.

            The younger stranger had wavy, thick locks that covered his ears and fell to the base of his neck. His brown skin seemed golden in the orange-tinted light of the office as his head turned curiously to take in the surroundings. Harry glanced at the man’s shirt and refrained from rolling his eyes at the science pun gaudily printed on an otherwise nice blue t-shirt. _He He He – laughing gas._ The shirt seemed more like a comedic punch in the face than anything.

            “Can I help you?” Harry finally asked. He cleared his throat as a pair of soft brown eyes fell on him.

            “Oh, I’m so sorry,” the other man stepped forward, a hand extended in front of him, “I should introduce myself. I’m Cisco Ramon, the new chemistry teacher.”

            Harry accepted the handshake and wondered how a chemistry teacher had such soft hands. In the short stint when Harry had been pushed to teach chem, he burned or cut his hands on a total of five occasions. Maybe that was his engineering brain taking over and forcing him to try and build tools out of whatever was laying around him. Both men’s arms fell back to their sides.

            “The previous teacher—Hewitt, I think—got transferred to a new school and I did as well,” Cisco explained, a smile present on his face the entire time. “Oh, I apologize. I didn’t get your name.”

            “Oh, it’s Harrison Wells. You can call me Harry—everyone else does.”

            Cisco laughed in response. It was a bright and joyful sound. Harry thought of the leaves of the fall trees.

            “Yeah, that makes more sense than saying the nickname first, I suppose,” Cisco beamed as he looked away sheepishly, “my _name_ is Francisco. Francisco Ramon.”

            Harry didn’t quite know what to do when the younger man’s gaze snapped quickly back to Harry’s own pale blue eyes. He hadn’t been expecting a new teacher, though he knew it was happening. There were talks amongst students and the teachers were informed ahead of time, but Harry tended to not listen or at least disregarded the unimportant information. He awkwardly tried to end the conversation.

            “Well, nice to meet you, and I, uh, look forward to working with you.”

            “As do I, Harry.”

            Just in time, Caitlin walked in and gave out a surprised noise. She pushed a coffee into Harry’s chest and he instinctively grabbed it. Clearing her throat, she pushed Harry aside and took his place in front of Cisco.

            “You must be the new chemistry teacher,” Caitlin beamed, “nice to meet you!”

            Cisco greeted her back and together they seemed…too happy. Too energetic. Harry, being the dramatic person he is, sat down with an audible sigh. Turning his chair, he made sure that both Cisco and Caitlin were looking at him.

            “Please don’t tell me there are two of you. I don’t think I can handle that much optimism.” Harry said as he looked at Caitlin. She glared back angrily. His eyes shifted to the other man as he saw him move to face him. It looked strange now that he loomed over Harry.

            “Don’t worry, Harry,” Cisco said brightly, “I’m sure we can covert you.”

            Harry opened his mouth to retort but it snapped shut as he saw the younger man wink at him. Instead, Harry smiled briefly and turned to face his computer, hoping he’d be left alone. The older man chewed on his lip as he heard the other two talking behind him. _Uh oh_ , Harry thought. He knew there was going to be a problem.


	2. coffee shop

         

            “So, who actually did the homework?” Harry asked as he took a sip of coffee.

            Glancing around, Harry counted mentally and subtracted three from the final count, knowing full well that there were always some liars. He raised his eyebrows when he saw Jesse raising her hand.

            “Jesse,” Harry said, a taunting tone creeping up, “I _know_ you didn’t do the homework.”

            Stifled laughter erupted from the small group of students as they tried not to glance back at Jesse. Harry knew he shouldn’t mention the fact Jesse was his daughter, but it could be fun sometimes. Usually, it was Jesse who would embarrass him by bringing up something stupid he did at home or something he said on the way over. It painted a picture of him as an irritable, grumpy old man—which wasn’t too far off. Whatever chance at revenge Harry got, he’ll take. What did worry him was Jesse’s competitive nature. If he embarrassed her, she’d make sure he gets back what he handed out, only ten times worse, of course. Instead of a retort, Jesse huffed and looked to a formula sheet on the wall. Harry decided to thoroughly apologize later.

            “Anyways,” Harry placed the cup down and picked up a piece of chalk, the familiar dryness greeting him, “today we’re learning about momentum.”

            He began scribbling “momentum” on the chalkboard and slowed slightly as he heard the frantic rustling of notebooks behind him. Continuing, Harry wrote a short note as he explained in more detail out loud.

            “Momentum is the inertia of a moving mass. An object in motion has momentum.”

            Turning to face the students, Harry began his lesson.

            “What has more momentum, a ball bearing object moving at a certain speed or a train moving at the same speed?”

            A cult-like mumble of ‘train’ came out.

            “So, mass is a factor of momentum. Now, what has more momentum, a ball bearing moving at 30 m/s or one of the same mass moving at 300 m/s?”

            Another synchronised response. Harry turned and wrote as he spoke.

            “Thus speed is a factor as well. From this, we can derive the formula p, which is momentum, equals mass, m, multiplied by the speed, v. Momentum is a vector quantity as it is a product of a scalar quantity multiplied by a vector.”

            With the sleeves of his dark sweater already covered in chalk dust, Harry turned and glanced around. The kids were more attentive now. _A new formula always does the trick_. Fortunately for Harry, the students in his class actually wanted to learn what he taught. Unlike some other teachers who had a large class of students who could barely keep their eyes open, the students who took his class were interested in physics and engineering. So it usually felt like he was talking to adults rather than kids who would rather be at home than listen to an adult mumble some numbers at them. It was understandable, of course. Harry could hardly stand small talk with people, let alone 75 minutes lectures.

            Ensuring they understood what he was talking about, Harry taught about impulse, the law of conservation of momentum, and gave them practice problems. He let them work with each other for 20 minutes before interrupting with another note. As Harry began to talk, a soft knock on the door cut him off. He started up again as he opened the door. Cisco stood in front of him with a clipboard in his hand. Harry found that he’d gone silent once again. Jerking his head around, Harry glanced at the students and then to Cisco, standing still for a moment before inviting him in.

            Realizing it would be awkward to have a conversation in front of students expecting a note, Harry told them to flip to page 259 and define work and power. They begrudgingly complied as Harry turned his attention to the man beside him.

            “Sorry, what do you need?”

            “Electronic scales,” Cisco responded quietly, “I’m not sure where they’re kept but apparently, it’s in the science wing. I already checked my class.”

            Harry nodded as he turned and made his way behind his desk, motioning Cisco to follow. The desks for science classes were long, black, and more like counters or table tops than desks. Each had a sink and because the material the surface was made of was easy to write on, many doodles littered them. Harry’s desk had several cabinets and drawers. He opened a couple until he found a box with jumbled wires of electronic scale. Lifting the heavy block onto the counter, Harry kicked the cabinet closed. He eyed the box and then Cisco.

            “Need help getting these back?”

            Cisco leaned forward and spoke quietly.

            “I may not have your body but I think I can manage.”

            Harry’s arms fell to his side as he tried to think of anything more intelligent to say than blurting out “okay.” He couldn’t. Instead, he put his hands on his hips and nodded stiffly.

            Cisco reached out and dusted chalk off Harry’s shoulder, the white powder especially visible in the nooks and crannies of his black sweater. Harry’s eyes instinctively shot down to the touch and he tensed up. As if not noticing, Cisco picked up the box and got a good hold before giving a smile and turning to leave. He paused and Harry followed the other man’s gaze. The students were eyeing them intently. Betraying his will, Harry’s heart began to beat faster. He cleared throat and faced them.

            “This is Mr Ramon,” his voice was steady, “he’s the new chemistry teacher.”

            “I would wave but I think I’d break a lot of equipment or my own foot.”

             This garnered a small chuckle from the audience. Cisco nodded at them and continued to walk to the door. Harry followed, opening it for him, gesturing outside. Harry gave a small smile and let the door fall behind him, resuming his position in front of the board.

            “How gentlemanly of you, Mr Wells,” a clear voice came from the back. _Jesse…_

            Harry glared at her and rolled his eyes, turning to continue his lesson. As he gathered his things, Harry listened to the chatter behind him. A few words popped out that he could make out. _Hair, cute, crush_. Harry cleared his throat loudly, promptly ending all conversation.

            “So,” Harry began, his voice stern, “can someone please define work.”

 

\----

 

            The bell rang soon after and the classroom emptied, save for one.

            “I like the new teacher, dad,” Jesse said, thumbs hooked under her backpack straps, “he’s handsome.”

            Harry spun around from the small weights in front of him to face Jesse. His eyebrows were furrowed and he glared at her. Jesse put up her arms as if to surrender.

            “He’s also too old for you,” Harry essentially growled.

            Jesse’s face contorted in confusion, indignation, and annoyance. Harry realized he’d miscalculated and immediately regretted it. Opening his mouth to explain himself, Jesse’s voice cut off even a beginning of an attempt.

            “First of all, no,” she walked forward, pointing at Harry’s chest, “second of all, how dare you, and third of all, you think so too.”

            Harry tried to catch up to all the points and had no idea how to respond to any of them, especially not the last. He just stood there, mouth open and eyes narrowed. When he finally collected himself, he lightly smacked away Jesse’s hand which was now boring a hole into his chest. He loomed even taller but that didn’t do anything for Jesse to back down. Knowing full well his daughter would end up besting him, Harry sighed and stood down.

            “I don’t ‘think so too’,” Harry chose his words carefully, “and at school, I am not your dad, I am your teacher.”

            Jesse rolled her eyes but didn’t protest. Instead, she gave a playful pat on the shoulder and waved goodbye, walking out the door. The remaining silence was jarring. Harry forgot that he had work to do for a second and wondered if he could just stand and do nothing for the rest of the day. The 5-minute bell once again jolted him back to his senses as he routinely grabbed his binders and tools, heading to the science office.

            Caitlin’s laugh could be heard in the hallways even before Harry made it into the office. She was weakly holding her lunch in her hands as she tried not to spill it from laughing too hard.  

            “What does that even mean?” Caitlin managed between laughs. Cisco sat across her, a wide smile on his face. At the sound of Harry walking in, he turned and waved hello. Harry waved back.

            “Oh,” Caitlin snapped out of it, “Harry, good afternoon.”

            “Hello, Snow,” Harry responded, dropping his stuff bluntly onto his desk, “you seem to be enjoying yourself.”

            “Oh my god,” Caitlin’s face lit up, “Cisco was telling me about an experiment gone wrong at his previous school.”

            She began chuckling to herself, not expanding on the story. Harry shrugged and sat down. He didn’t have much prep today thankfully so his lunch could actually consist of eating lunch. He leaned forward and pulled an apple and a sandwich from a small black backpack. He didn’t actually know what was in the sandwich since Jesse had made it. Though Harry didn’t get a lot of sleep, Jesse had somehow managed to make herself a schedule that ensured she got up early, prepped herself and Harry a lunch. Every morning, Harry would hear her walk down the stairs of their home and every morning Harry tried to understand how he had raised a child who willingly got up at 5:30. Not only that but how he had raised a child who willingly got up early _and_ somehow also got enough sleep. _Of course, she has her life together at 17,_ Harry thought.

            Taking a bite out of the apple, Harry watched as Caitlin and Cisco continued their conversation. They’d been talking about how Cisco was faring at the new school.

            “Either the previous teacher didn’t actually teach or they didn’t listen. I’ve had to re-teach quite a few things.” Cisco said.

            “Oh yes, Mr Hewitt,” Caitlin sighed, “his teaching was a bit different. Sometimes he forgot he was teaching high school students not senior year university students.”

            “Well, there have been a lot more ‘aha’ moments today than in the entirety of my teaching at Stein.”

             Martin Stein Secondary School was essentially the arch-enemy of Central City Secondary School. The whole sports rivalries and other drama that occurred between the students of CCSS and MSSS was something that came up quite often. According to the gossip in the halls, Harry had learned that Stein was the better field hockey and soccer team while Central City was the better football and volleyball team. He had also learned that Stein had better-looking boys. Hearing the girls babble about how they couldn’t wait till their school had a football game so that they could see the cute boys made Harry rethink if his teaching was actually worth anything.

            You taught at Stein,” Harry said more than asked, “how was that?”

            “I mean,” Cisco smiled, “it was a high school. They’re all the same, right?”

            Harry agreed and took a bite of the sandwich. He stopped chewing a few seconds in. The sandwich was sweet for some reason. Forcing himself to swallow, Harry threw it out and stuck out his tongue. Realizing Cisco was watching, Harry regained his composure and took another bite of his apple.

            “Is that all you’re eating?” Cisco asked with a lollipop in his mouth. Harry raised an eyebrow.

            “Yes, it is,” Harry pointed to the sweet, “is that all _you’re_ eating?”

            Cisco laughed and Harry had to stop himself from smiling. He made a mental note of how well a smile suited the younger man. Cisco looked at him and popped the lollipop from his mouth.

            “I was planning to go out to eat. You know, explore this area a bit.”

            Cisco’s eyes lit up and Harry could essentially see the light bulb over his head.

            “Would you two like to join me?”

             Caitlin made noises of affirmation through a mouthful of food while Harry refrained from expressing his immediate reaction. When it came to get-togethers with people, especially co-workers, Harry never wanted to be a part of it. It all seemed very boring and if he could be working instead of pretending to be interested in what someone is saying, why wouldn’t he? This was different though. It was only Caitlin and Cisco and Harry thought it would’ve been too rude even for him to say no to someone who just started teaching in a new school. Cisco stared at Harry, his eyes eager and hopeful.

            “Of course,” Harry said.

 

\----

 

            “I’ve never been here,” Harry said as Caitlin pulled over, “is it new?”

            Checking her parking, Caitlin twisted to face Harry.

            “It’s been here for quite a while, Harry. You just don’t go anywhere but Big Belly Burger.”

            Cisco turned around slowly, his hair in his face from the wind through his open window. Harry remembered that he wasn’t used to Caitlin’s driving. It was quite erratic and consisted of quick acceleration and even quicker stops. She’d driven Harry home before so he’d become used to it but Cisco looked shaken. As the hair moved over his eyelashes when he blinked, Harry felt a strange urge to push it away. When he finally realized they’d come to a stop, Cisco closed his hanging jaw and shook his head.

            “Wait, sorry, there’s a Big Belly Burger here?” Cisco asked.

            “Nope, absolutely not,” Caitlin replied as she pulled the keys out, “we are _not_ going to Big Belly Burger for your first day here. You two can clog your arteries another time.”

            Knowing that arguing wouldn’t work, Harry and Cisco followed her out of the car and to a quaint building. It was neatly painted a dark coffee colour with a large sign that flashed “CC Jitters.” Harry made a mental note to thank Caitlin for bringing them to a coffee shop. It was a smart choice too; what teacher doesn’t love coffee? The environment was comforting as people rushed in and out with food and drinks. The chatter in the background gave a relaxing vibe. Lining up behind a large man dressed in a construction outfit, they looked through the menu. As Harry eyed a chicken wrap, he heard Cisco quietly curse beside him. Glancing down, he saw the younger man frantically patting his pockets and finally sighing in disappointment.

            “Is something wrong?” Harry asked as Cisco looked up with a pout.

            “Yeah, sorry,” he replied, “I seem to have forgotten my wallet back at the school.”

            Harry thought for a moment before replying.      His eyes flashed to Caitlin who stood with a smile, contemplating what to order. Clearing his throat, he finally replied.

            “That’s alright, I’ll pay for you.”

            Cisco’s eyes lit up and his face broke into a wide smile. This time Harry didn’t refrain from smiling in response.

            “Oh my god,” his voice was quiet and excited, “thank you! I’ll pay you back, I promise.”

            He made a cross-my-heart motion and brought his finger to Harry’s chest over his heart. Harry tensed at the touch and looked down. Cisco snapped his arm back to his side and grinned shyly.

            “You don’t have to,” Harry said, “and how do you take your coffee?”

            “Very sweet,” Cisco replied, “maybe a little too sweet.”           

            “That seems about right.”

            Cisco tilted his head like a puppy and furrowed his brows. The red tint given by the neon lights behind him shifted with the movement.

            “How so?”

            Harry opened his mouth and closed it right after. _You seem sweet too,_ he thought. He wouldn’t say it though, especially not to Cisco’s face. The chatter seemed to die down and they were an order away from the front of the line.

             “Ah, it fits your personality, I suppose,” Harry said reluctantly. Cisco shrugged in response. It seemed like he wanted to say more but kept it to himself.

            Their conversation was cut off by a cheery barista asking for their order. Caitlin had already ordered before them and had gone to sit at a table beside a large window. Harry ordered a coffee for Cisco and himself, as well as a spicy grilled chicken wrap.

            “Oh,” Cisco nudged beside Harry to make sure the barista saw him, “can I also get a blueberry muffin?”

            Since they got there, the crowd had cleared out and few people remained. Some were college students on laptops with three cups of coffee around them. An older couple sat in the corner, drinking their coffee in peace. Harry took a seat on the chair nearest the window while Cisco sat beside him. Caitlin sat opposite the two men, cradling a plain bagel with herb and garlic cream cheese spread like it was a newborn child. Harry glanced at his watch as he opened his chicken wrap. They still had half an hour before the classes started. Taking a bite, Harry realized how hungry he really was.

            Cisco leaned forward as he ripped another piece off the muffin and shoved it into his mouth. He looked past Harry to watch the people walking quickly past each other. Some were in suits, some in dresses, and some in sweatpants. Harry ate slower as he felt the gaze of the younger man past him. Feeling increasingly more awkward as the seconds passed by, Harry leaned forward to catch Cisco’s gaze. As if snapping out of a daze, Cisco stared back.

            “You like people watching, huh,” Harry stated rather than asking.

            “It’s fun to see all the different people here,” Cisco replied with a wave of his hand. He stuffed the last piece of the muffin into his mouth. Harry shrugged and finished his wrap as well, followed by a swig of soda.

            “Oh,” Cisco lifted a finger as he remembered something, “I’ve been meaning to ask you, do you have a daughter in the school?” Harry nodded.

            “Her name’s Jesse. She’s quite smart so don’t let her know anything I do. It’ll come back to bite either me or you in the ass—most likely me.”

            Caitlin laughed and agreed. She took a large swig of her coffee and placed it down with a satisfied sigh.

            “So,” Cisco said, a curious tone in his voice, “is your wife also a teacher?”

            The question caught Harry off-guard as he took a sip of his coffee. Not knowing how to respond, he looked at Caitlin, who no longer had a smile on her face. Tess Morgan was Harry’s wife. She had died in a car crash only a month after Jesse was born. Though it had been over a decade since her passing, Harry felt discomfort in sharing that information with other people. Though he didn’t understand why, it felt wrong, as if sharing her death rather than the amazing accomplishments and wonderful soul she had was belittling. Harry spoke nonetheless.

            “She, uh, passed away.” He winced as he saw the other man’s expression drop.

            “Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”

            Harry nodded in response. A silence fell over them and the noise of the coffee shop was barely audible. A feeling of unease rose in Harry. He didn’t understand why.

            “We should get back,” Caitlin broke the silence, lifting her coat off the chair, “we’re gonna be late. I don’t even want to deal with the kids calling us hypocrites.”

              The tension eased as Cisco laughed, patting Harry on the shoulder as he got up. Harry felt relief as he realized he hadn’t ruined a chance at friendship with the younger man. He frowned as he pushed the chair in. _Since when did I hope for friends?_ His thoughts were interrupted as Caitlin threw out their garbage and yelled at Harry to hurry up.

            The drive back was somehow worse than the drive to CC Jitters as the car sped quickly over a speed bump, sending everyone in the car high above their seats. Cisco yelped and asked Caitlin to please slow down. They finally reached the school and Harry checked the time. Seven minutes till class. Racing to get ready for their classes, the teachers scrambled to grab the notes for their lessons from the science office. Harry paused to remember what class he had and switched his binder for the grade 9 one. Caitlin quickly said goodbye to the men and speed-walked down the hall to her class.

            Harry took a deep breath, trying to remember if he forgot something. Cisco stood in a similar pondering stance until the bell rang. They both began walking out the door and Harry exited first. Walking side by side, Cisco waved goodbye as they finally diverged and opened the door to their classes. They were opposite each other in the hall and the chatter of students quieted down as they entered.

            “Sorry I’m late,” Harry said, placing his stuff down at his desk and turning on the smart-board, “I was out for lunch.”

            “Really? I thought you basically lived in this school,” a smartass quipped from the audience. Some students chuckled as Harry rolled his eyes. Picking up a stray piece of chalk, Harry tapped his desk as he spoke.

            “Anyways, today we’re going to learn about energy; kinetic energy, gravitational potential energy, and a new one, elastic potential energy.”

            Writing quickly, Harry scribbled the basic definition of kinetic energy. Right after he finished, the chalk snapped and pieces fell to the ground. Sighing, Harry picked them up and went to the door to throw them out. As he tossed them into the garbage, Harry looked up to see Cisco’s figure near the door of his classroom as well. It took longer than needed for him to stop staring and go back to teaching. As if noticing his gazing, Cisco turned and waved, the smile that Harry liked plastered on his face. Sheepishly waving back, Harry turned and walked back to the board. His mouth moved as he talked about kinetic energy, repeating what he said every year. He wasn’t really thinking about what he was saying. Rather, he couldn’t stop seeing Cisco’s face in his head.

            “Uh, Mr Wells,” a girl with blonde braided hair interrupted, “are you going to write any of this down?”

            “Do I need to? It’s everything you’ve already learned.”

            She nodded and Harry could see the slightly nervous look on her face. Sighing, he turned and began writing. Nearly panicking, Harry quickly tried to erase his words as he realized he had written “Ramon” instead of “reference.”

            Harry’s head fell and a daunting thought came to him. He might have a crush.


	3. crush

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> mooooooore fluff

           A crush is just a fleeting feeling. It shouldn’t impact your decision making or thoughts. It should be easy to mask and repress. It should be gone in a few weeks or so. Harry repeated these points in his head over and over again. He didn’t understand why he was acting like one of the teenagers he taught. And to think that the kids talking about their crushes like it was the biggest thing in the universe made him roll his eyes. Since meeting Cisco Ramon, Harry found that he thought of the other man more often than he deemed normal. He wanted to be in his presence whenever he was alone with his fretful thoughts.

            _Perhaps it’s more a curiosity than a crush_ , Harry thought. He jotted points down in his mind like the teacher and scientist he was.

  * Ramon is attractive.
  * Ramon is funny.
  * He has a nice voice. Smooth, clear, and comforting. _Complete opposite of mine._
  * He’s good at small talk. _I’m not._
  * He’s young. _I’m not._



           From the beginning of his note to the end, it had somehow delved into Harry’s brain formulating the statement of “opposites attract” and then naming opposites between them. With a sigh, Harry took off his glasses and rubbed his face. He sat in his room, fingers pinching the bridge of his nose, with the lights still yet to be turned on. It was 7:00 in the morning and the dark blue sky outside the large windows at the back of the room provided dim light. Not a single sound came from the hallways of the science wing and the lights in the hallways had long since turned off. A faint bump came from the barely working heating.

           With a groan, Harry stretched and headed to the science office. A second after he stepped into the hallway, the motion sensor detected the disruption, followed by the fluorescent lights of the ceiling turning on one by one. He squinted as the harsh glare filled the halls.

           Jesse sat at his desk, a large and well-organized binder open on her lap. She held a pen up to a mouth, her brows furrowed in thought. Harry sat down across her on Caitlin’s chair with a loud thump, a groan of complaint coming out. Jesse didn’t even look up. Sometimes, Harry could see some of himself in Jesse and he didn’t know how to feel about that. He did know that those moments where she unknowingly mirrored the way Tess used to be made him happy. She was a lot like her mother and she didn’t even know it. Jesse was smart, ambitious, and, just like Tess, kept Harry in check. Whenever Harry got irrational or full of himself, it would be Jesse who would knock him down from his own mindset. He hoped he showed how much appreciation and love he had for her.

           “Jesse,” Harry’s voice was quiet, “Hello?”

           She looked up, seemingly not because of his inquiry but rather because she had her own question. Harry realized she’d been studying for physics. He raised an eyebrow as Jesse continued to stare at him, her eyes narrowed and mouth open.

           “How,” she began slowly, “does G3P turn into RuBP?”

 _Biology,_ Harry thought with a sneer. He mockingly pretended to think along with her. Raising a finger with a sarcastic “aha,” Harry rolled his eyes and got up to return to his class. He stopped and turned with his arms crossed as Jesse gently kicked him in the calf. She didn’t look at him but had the same pondering expression.

           “What?” Harry asked impatiently.

           “How’s it going with Mr Ramon? I heard you two had lunch together yesterday—or as I and nearly everyone else likes to call it, a date.”

           Her gaze was now directed at him and Harry stared back in indignation. He knew he couldn’t fool Jesse but, hey, it didn’t hurt to try. Despite remaining still and collected, Harry’s mind raced to connect how she even knew that. ‘ _Your dad has a crush on Mr Ramon!_ ’ Harry could hear the squeaky teenage voice in his head. Either someone saw them walk in or he isn’t as good at hiding his feelings as he thought.

           “It wasn’t just Ramon;” Harry replied pointedly, “Snow was there, too.”

            That had sounded less like a grumpy child and more like an excellent statement in his head. Now he knew Jesse wasn’t going to let it go. Though Jesse often tried to get him to date someone, she usually laid off if he said he wasn’t interested, whether it was true or not. This didn’t seem to be the case with Cisco.

           “This is just childish, Jesse,” Harry said before she could argue, “these are my co-workers and this is my job, not a dating website.”

           Closing her mouth and giving a signature Wells eye roll, Jesse shut her binder and walked towards the door. With a sharp wave, she turned with a smug expression.

           “It’s not school yet, dad.”

           Once again getting the last word in, Jesse left before Harry could argue. Instead, he stood in the middle of the room with his arms crossed and face scrunched in annoyance. Only moments after Jesse had left, the doorway was filled with another figure. Eyes widening, Harry fumbled with his hands before stuffing them into his pockets and giving an unconvincing smile. There opposite him, Cisco stood with a black leather tote bag in one hand and a small backpack being balanced precariously on one shoulder. He was leaning to his right slightly due to the weight and he eyed Harry with a concerned yet suspicious look.

           “Hi,” Cisco said, though it sounded more like a question, “you okay?”

           “Yeah, of course,” Harry cleared his throat, “why wouldn’t I be?”

           Responding with a chuckle, Cisco dropped his stuff beside his chair and stood up straight with a groan, his left hand going up to the opposite shoulder, massaging it gently. Harry watched his hand move as his fingers disappeared under the hood of his jacket. With his eyes tightly shut, he let out a sigh of relief and Harry’s eyes darted away.

           “You sure you’re okay? You seem tense.” Cisco was now stretching his arms and back.

           Harry took a deep breath and put on his best ‘Mr Wells’ expression—a little bit of intimidation and determination. Rather than speaking, Harry nodded briskly and saw Cisco smirk as he let his arms drop to his side with a satisfied breath.

           “How’re your classes going so far?” Harry asked, trying to divert the conversation from his own feelings to literally anything else.

           “They’re good,” Cisco said, “the kids here are a lot more intent on learning that the kids at Stein.” Harry agreed.

           “Also thank you for, uh, helping me with everything,” the younger man looked down, “I didn’t expect the science teachers to be so lovely.”

           Once again, Harry couldn’t find the words to reply. ‘Lovely’ wasn’t usually a word that was associated with him and that compliment coming from someone as nice as Cisco seemed strange. What about that man that made Harry lose his words (something that rarely happens), he didn’t know. _You’re lovely,_ Harry wanted to say.

           “Of course, I—uh— _we_ want you to feel comfortable here.”

           Cisco didn’t reply, but rather a small smile played at his lips as his gaze lifted to study Harry’s crossed arms. Feeling suddenly very self-conscious, Harry dropped his arms and looked away. The older man didn’t dislike his body; in fact, he made sure to stay in shape despite his busy schedule. However, having his body under the gaze of the other man brought on a feeling of unfamiliar awkwardness.

           “Oh,” that puppy-like excitement appeared on Cisco’s face as he broke the silence, “guess I should ask right now; would you like to join me again for lunch?”

           “Today?” Harry asked quickly. Cisco tilted his head with a smile so warm Harry felt like he was going to melt. 

           “You sure like replying with a question. Yes, today. I really enjoyed that coffee place.”

           Harry pretended to think about his schedule to hide the fact that his mind was rapidly listing the pros and cons for this… _date?_ _No, not date,_ Harry snapped at himself. His anxiety eased when he remembered Caitlin was most likely coming as well.

           “Yes,” Harry finally replied, “I’d like that.”

 

 

\----

 

           “This won’t be a long note,” Harry said, “but it will be on the test.”

           That perked interest as the students readied themselves to write. Harry wrote quickly but neatly on the board. _Simple Harmonic Motion._ Like always, he spoke as he wrote the definition.

           “Simple harmonic motion, or SHM, describes an event that repeats itself at regular intervals.” With a tap of his chalk, Harry turned around.

           “In cases like these, energy is ideally conserved. Can anyone give me an example?”

           A few hands shot up, some more eager than others. He purposefully picked the girl right sitting beside Jesse, earning him a glare from his daughter.

           “A pendulum?”

            “Yes, very good. That’s all you really need to know about this.”

           Clapping his hands together to get the chalk off, Harry glanced up at the clock for the sixth time since class had started. _Only 20 minutes in,_ Harry thought with disappointment.

           “Now, let’s talk about collisions,” chalk dust floated down as he drew a practice scenario, “if a 500g cart with a spring at its front is moving at 2.5 m/s toward another 750g cart that’s moving 1.6 m/s in the opposite direction, how would you find the extension of the spring?”

           Fewer hands shot up this time. Sighing, he watched as Jesse eagerly waved her hand. Harry pointed at her.

           “Because it’s a collision, you would have to consider a before and after component. Before, all energy is kinetic, and after, it’s elastic and kinetic.”

           Harry nodded his head and told the class to give it a shot. He turned quickly around, barely seeing the dark figure at the door. Despite himself, Harry did a double take as Cisco stood there, a pondering expression on his face. He was looking up in thought and didn’t notice Harry staring. At the silence, Cisco finally glanced around.

           “Oh, sorry to disturb you,” he still remained at the doorway, arms crossed and one knee bent as he leaned on the door, “I had a question.”

           Harry motioned for him to come in. The door closed shut behind him as Cisco walked towards Harry, studying the class. The older man stood with a chalk still in his hand as he got more of it on his dark shirt. He didn’t notice and instead marvelled at how soft Cisco’s hair looked. Cisco turned, his eyes to Harry’s collar bones before he glanced up to meet the gaze of the taller man.

           “I do love chemistry but physics is where my expertise is,” he said casually.

           “I’ll be sure to remember that if I need a supply,” Harry said with a smile, “oh, do you need help with anything?”

           “Yeah, I was wondering if I could borrow the keys to the storage room.” Cisco jabbed his thumb in the direction of his class. Without a word, Harry dragged the keys off his desk and tossed them to Cisco with a jingle.

           “Thank you, sir,” Cisco replied playfully, dragging out the last word. Harry could feel his ears redden as his eyes flicked to the students and back to the younger man. He merely nodded his head in response. Whistling, Cisco spun the keys on his finger and swivelled on his heel to leave.

           Returning a minute later, he walked in uninvited this time and held out the keys for Harry. To Harry’s surprise, he gently placed his now empty hands on Harry’s shoulders as he wiped the chalk off of his shirt. Unlike the sweater the last time, the shirt hugged his body well and he felt every small touch of Cisco’s fingers.

           “You know,” Cisco said as his hands remained on the other man’s deltoids, “if you’re gonna wear such dark clothes, you might want to be a bit more careful with the chalk.”

           With a pat, he left as quickly as he had entered. Harry stood there frozen and tense, the feeling of the warm hands of the other man still vaguely present on his arms. He didn’t know how long he stood there when he finally realized that his students were staring, waiting for the lesson to continue.

           “U-Uh,” Harry fumbled, trying to gather his thoughts, “okay, so, before the collision, Et=Ek, and after the collision, or in this case, when the first cart is at max compression, Et=Ek+Ee. Now, remember, at the brief instant at max compression, the masses of the two carts act as one system.”

           He continued to babble as he wrote the entirety of the solution on the board, not bothering to stop and answer any possible questions. Hoping that the math would take his mind off of it, Harry turned and stared silently at his students. His gaze landed on Jesse, who looked as if she was on the brink of having a laughing fit. Glaring at her, he regained his composure and asked for questions. None came up and Harry continued with his lesson, still much tenser than before…him. For the sake of professionalism, however, Harry powered through and handed out practice problems, hoping that would be enough to fill in the time left. _Only 10 minutes left,_ Harry thought. At the beginning of the class, he couldn’t wait till lunch and now, Harry felt anxious as the time neared 11:40.

           Trying to think of why he agreed to a lunch date—not a date—Harry winced as the bell rang. He heard Jesse rush to his side almost immediately. With a groan, Harry turned to face her.

           “What?” His voice was a low growl but that didn’t phase the wide grin on her face.

           “You have a cruuush,” Harry cringed as she dragged the word. Glaring at her fiercely, Harry challenged her to continue. Instead, she raised her hands and laughed. With a hug goodbye, she left giving a thumbs up and a wink. Harry shook his head in annoyance but didn’t argue with himself with the idea of a crush. He could admit it but it was a fact he would keep strictly to himself.  

 _Now the fuck what,_ Harry thought at the revelation.

 

\-----

 

           Caitlin scrambled to gather all the messily spread out papers into a single folder. Her carefully curled hair fell over her face in soft waves and her red suit jacket and skirt threatened to crease as she twisted to grab everything. Harry didn’t know what to do as she hastily gave an explanation.

           “Look, just because you didn’t know I had a meeting today, doesn’t mean it automatically gets cancelled.”

           “Why didn’t _you_ tell me, then?”

           “Harry, I _did_ tell you, and you said, I quote, ‘Yeah, that’s great,’”

           Harry gestured with emotion as he tried to find something to say. Apparently, the only thing that was keeping him calm at the thought of going on a lunch date (not a date) with Cisco, which was Caitlin, had a meeting and wouldn’t be able to join. Harry was trying to not make a big deal out of it but was very clearly failing.

           “Is the meeting _that_ important?” Harry tried.

           “Oh no, of course not,” Caitlin replied sarcastically, “it’s just with the school board and considering I’m the head of the science unit, I’m sure they’ll be okay if I skipped it to act like a mom for your date.”

           “It’s not a date,” Harry quipped angrily, “and that’s fine, whatever, I was just hoping you would come because, you know, you’re my, uh, friend.”

           Caitlin sighed and looked at Harry. To her credit, she didn’t look amused at Harry’s panic, which he was thankful for.

           “Look,” she sounded more like a mother than ever, “I’m sorry I can’t come but it’s just one lunch. Don’t freak out, okay? Cisco likes you, you like him, what could go wrong?”

           Well, that cleared up the question in Harry’s head of whether or not she knew he had some sort of feelings for Cisco. The times all three met in the science office, Caitlin could see how tense Harry was around the other man. Despite his instinct to argue, Harry briskly nodded. With a reassuring smile, Caitlin left, leaving Harry to his own thoughts.

           “Why is it that every time I come in here, you look like you’re taking an exam?” Cisco’s voice broke through Harry’s thoughts. The older man’s eyes flashed up and he tried not to fumble over his words.

           “I’ll have you know I never got anxious before an exam,”

           Cisco smirked and shook his head. He wore a navy blue button up shirt that was tucked loosely into his black dress pants. It was different from what he was wearing when Harry had seen him earlier that morning. He looked strangely more dolled up compared to the previous days of cheesy science graphic tees. The first three buttons were unbuttoned, exposing a glimpse his collar bones. Harry tried not to stare but failed. The younger man took notice and glanced down at his own outfit.

           “Oh, this,” he gestured lazily, “spilt some copper sulphate solution everywhere. I didn’t feel like going for the Brockhampton Saturation look today.”

           Harry gave him a confused look at the many words he didn’t understand in that sentence. He knew copper sulphate was blue but that’s as far as he got.

           “Oh my god,” Cisco said wide-eyed, “don’t tell me you’ve never heard of Brockhampton.”

           “Ramon, do you _really_ think I’ve heard of that?” Harry replied, raising an eyebrow. The younger man replied with a grunt of agreement as he bent down to look through his bag. A few seconds later, he pulled out a pair of keys.

           “Ready to go?”

 

\---

           Harry stuffed his hands into his jacket as they made their way out the school doors to the parking lot beside the science wing to Cisco’s car. Despite Harry’s insisting that he drive them, the younger man wanted to take his own car. His car was a Toyota Matrix that looked quite well kept with the inside clean and bare. His driving was a pleasant contrast from Caitlin’s as they made their way to Jitters without any sudden brakes or near-accidents.

           Unlike last time, it wasn’t very busy with only eight or so people. The immediate smell of coffee and baked goods warmed Harry’s nerves. Cisco walked in front of him and this time took the lead in ordering. Looking distraught, his eyes flicked between two menu items.

           “Should I get a sprinkled donut or an apple fritter?” Cisco asked, turning to face Harry.

“Why not get some actual food?” Harry said lightly. Cisco pouted and Harry tried not to focus on his lips.

           He ended up ordering an apple fritter and a plain bagel with butter as well as a coffee with two creams and three sugars while Harry ordered a chicken wrap with a black coffee. Stepping out of line, they waited for their orders. Leaning against a poster covered wall, Harry held his breath as Cisco’s arm brushed up against him. They stood there as the shop filled with more people. They both watched as a tall, movie-star looking man entered the shop. Cisco nudged Harry as he raised his eyebrows.

           “Oooo, he’s cute,” Cisco voice raised several pitches as he winked at Harry. Harry let out an undignified laugh, covering his mouth with his hand. He continued to smile as Cisco studied him, a grin of his own playing on his lips.

           “You know,” he said softly, “you have a really nice smile.”

           “Chicken wrap, apple fritter, and two coffees!” A loud voice erupted from the cashier. Without waiting for a response, Cisco turned away from Harry to go pay, leaving the older man to silently scramble so as to understand what just happened. With a thank you, Cisco walked towards an open table, the same one they sat at before, and Harry remained frozen before following.

 _He probably compliments everyone,_ Harry rationalized. He was great at reading people but when it came to Cisco, it was unpredictable. A strange feeling welled up in Harry’s chest as he realized the last person to comment on his smile was Tess. He distinctly remembered he used to look away whenever he smiled, until Tess told him he shouldn’t hide it. She had a knack of making Harry more carefree, something he often needed. His thought process was interrupted as Cisco sat opposite him, sticking his hand out towards Harry. The older man merely stared at it before realizing he was handing him something. He held out an open palm and Cisco dropped some change into it.

           “For the last time,” he said cheerfully. Harry remembered the coffee.

           “Well, you bought it for me this time. No need to pay me back then.”

           “A double milk and triple sugar costs a bit more than a black coffee—which, by the way, fits your personality.”

           Harry snorted as he opened his chicken wrap, mouth watering as the scent hit him.

           “What personality is that, bitter and dark?”

           “I was thinking more serious and brooding.” Cisco teased. Harry rolled his eyes.

           They sat in comfortable silence as they finished their meals. They must’ve both been hungry as they finished with lots of time left till class would start. Harry watched as the other man sipped his coffee

           “So, you like physics?” He asked, fiddling with his coffee cup. Cisco’s eyes lit up.

           “I went to school for mechanical engineering so physics is an interest. I minored in chemistry so I’m cool with teaching it.”

           “I majored in mechanical engineering, too,” Harry replied, “minored in business but I hated it.”

           “Looks like we have a lot more in common than it seems,” Cisco said with a grin.

           “Seems like it,” Harry responded, “so, have you found a place here yet?”

           Cisco nodded, some hair falling over his cheek. Harry’s eyes followed the strands down to the other man’s lips which were now slick. His tongue flicked out to lick his lips and Harry looked away.

           “I have,” Cisco said, “I just need to move my stuff here. It’s not that much but it’ll take some effort.”

           “Need help?” Harry blurted out without much thought. Cisco looked surprised but said yes.

           “Is sometime next week okay?” Cisco asked. Harry nodded.

           “Also,” the younger man’s voice had a teasing lilt to it, “I had a conversation with your daughter. She had quite a lot to say about you.”

           Harry threw his head back with a groan, angrily making a mental note to scold her after school. Of course she had, anything to annoy him. He dreaded to think about what she said to Cisco. He doubted she would have openly said, _‘Hey, my dad has a crush on you, thanks and have a good day,”_ but he wouldn’t put it past her.

           “Do I even want to know, Ramon?”

           “I doubt it,” Cisco laughed, “and you can call me Cisco. Ramon makes me sound more handsome than I am.”

           Harry leaned forward, putting his weight on his arm. _Then Ramon fits,_ he wanted to say. Not knowing exactly where he picked it up, Harry tended to call people by their last name rather than their first. It was less personal, more professional. Tess always said he had a problem with intimacy.

           “Sorry, it’s habit,” Harry replied, “and what do you mean, you’re plenty handsome.”

           “Says you,” Cisco quipped, “you should hear what some of the students say.”  
            Harry gave a puzzled look. He had no idea what Cisco meant, but then again, he didn’t really listen to what the students gossiped about in the hallways. Despite working at the school for quite a while, he didn’t really know many of the “important” on goings.

           “Come on, don’t tell me you haven’t heard,” Cisco said, “Practically everyone thinks you’re good-looking. Jesse tells me it’s annoying to tell girls to ‘screw off’ whenever they ask about you.”

           Scoffing, Harry raised his cup to take a long sip. He didn’t see himself as bad-looking but _handsome_ isn’t where his mind would go—more average.

           “That’s probably an exaggeration,” he replied. Cisco raised an eyebrow.

           “Yeah, with eyes that blue, I wouldn’t be surprised if I was underselling it.”

            Harry blinked in surprise. _So, he thinks I’m good-looking,_ Harry didn’t know what to do with that information. He didn’t even know why what Cisco thought of his looks was a factor in anything. It’s not like he was hoping for a partner. Plus, he didn’t even know if Cisco was into men. _What am I thinking?_

            “From what I’ve heard,” Harry finally spoke, “the new teacher is quite popular amongst the students.”

            Cisco shrugged and placed his now empty coffee on the table. He looked to the side as Harry continued to stare, carefully studying the other man’s movements. It surprised Harry how beautiful Cisco looked when the light hit his face, his dark hair shining as he tucked it behind his ears.

            “Apparently Hewitt wasn’t very nice,” Cisco said, “They’re happy as long as I treat them like human beings.”

            The chatter in the coffee shop grew louder as people shuffled to their tables and out the door. The machines hissed and beeped around them and the baristas at the counter cheerfully yelled out orders. Cisco looked out the window and to the autumn sky. It was grey and cloudy but the sun still shone brightly over the city streets as people walked hurriedly up and down. They had a few more minutes before they had to leave and rather than chatting, they sat across each other in comfortable silence, both studying their environments and listening contently to the sounds around them. Harry realized he hadn’t felt this relaxed in quite a well. Usually, he was revising, marking, or dealing with Jesse, never actually sitting down and taking time to stay still.

            Harry’s focus shifted to Cisco and he looked back with a smile, closing his eyes. _Beautiful,_ Harry thought. It might’ve been a little more than a crush but he didn’t mind.


	4. midterms

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> date date date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay so this is shorter because i have A LOT of school work to do and two tests to look forward to in the next week whoop. aaaa i hope you enjoy too, thanks for leaving comments it motivates me to keep writing!!

            The schedule of the teachers got more and more hectic as midterms neared. The halls seemed more busy than usual as students wandered in and out of classrooms to get help and try and cram in last-minute information for the tests before the midterm report cards. The heightened stress level was practically palpable, more so for the seniors than juniors. Harry had noticed that this year's classes put a lot more energy into getting the number on their report cards satisfactory enough than previous years. Harry spent most of his time prepping for lessons, marking assignments, and plugging grades in. The report cards were due in a few days and Harry hadn’t even started yet. Unfortunately for him, he wasn’t one of the teachers who wrote “a pleasure to teach” for every student and required a lot more time to formulate a helpful paragraph for each of his students.

            “If I don’t get above a 93, I’m going to Kermit.” A student said as Harry entered the room. Some of the things these kids said were quite concerning but it seemed that they had perfected in making bleak statements sound like a joke. Harry sighed as he placed a binder of notes down on his desk. _Guess I should calm them down,_ he thought, _Ramon probably would._ The bell rang and the students diverted their attention to the front of the class.

            “As you know,” Harry began, “midterms are coming.”

            A dispirited murmur came from the audience. Some students stared unfocused into the air at the mention of midterms. One thing Harry hated about the education system was how high up on a pedestal marks were held. It did nothing but cause stress and anxiety. What he especially couldn’t stand was when teachers told him that it was good for the students; it motivated them and made them strive for better grades. What do good grades matter if it takes every ounce of your energy and soul to get them?  

            “Look, I understand why you all are worried,” he said, making sure they were all listening, “but they really aren’t that big of a deal. All of you are getting great marks and the median is a 92, which is unheard of in grade 12 physics, by the way.” They still looked unsure. Harry sighed and placed his palms on his desk, leaning forward to put his weight on them.

            “I’ve been here long enough to know that this exaggeration ends up being for nothing. Everything turns out fine and when you look back, you won’t even know why you were stressed out.”

            “Come on, Mr Wells, you probably aced every single test,” a dark-haired kid at the front said. Wally West. He leaned back on the stool with his feet on the edge of the desk. Like always, he had a pen in his hand and nothing else. He was one of those average-mark students that put little effort into his work, despite having the ability to do much more. If he tried a little harder, he could have the highest percent average in the school, after Jesse, of course.

            “Actually, I failed nearly all my classes in high school.”

            Whispers of disbelief and curiosity erupted from the students. Jesse smiled at the back of the class; she loved his high school stories. They were severely out of character to what the students thought of Harry. Though some didn’t find him the most likeable teacher, they had some sort of respect for him and his intelligence. When asked questions, Harry was willing to help and didn’t back out until the student understood. It wasn’t only for physics either as Harry could aid in information about many different classes from functions and chemistry to some parts of biology. Well, only those parts that coincided with physics. Biology wasn’t his strong suit.

            “Unlike you all, I put the least amount of care and effort into school as I possibly could.”

            “Why?” Wally asked incredulously.

            “Well, I didn’t like school at all. I thought it was useless and, to me, skipping with friends to do literally anything else was a better substitute. I only got my life together in grade 12 when the school finally intervened.”

            The point Harry was trying to make was that if someone like him was able to get into a university, get an education, and end up educating others, they would be fine. His past was humbling when he found himself judging the kids who didn’t seem to care at all about their schooling. To tell the truth, he was much more angsty than most of these students when he was their age. Parents were trying to control your life, teachers were trying to turn you into a zombie, and the only thing that mattered was doing what you liked, which in Harry’s teenage mindset was drinking, smoking cigarettes, and getting into fights. Despite the self-damaging behaviour, Harry had felt a strange sort of twisted happiness. He knew wouldn’t have lasted very long if he continued at that state but he hadn’t cared.

            “I got into a lot of fights and broke _a lot_ of bones by the end of my high school career,” Harry knew the kids were mature enough to understand what he was trying to say, “and at the time, I thought getting hurt and hurting others was the most fun thing I could do in a small town. Though I’m not bragging, I did win every single time. Still, I sobered up and continued my education and I’m still here.”

            “Wow,” Wally said wide-eyed as the class stared on in disbelief, “that’s badass, Mr Wells.”

            Harry sighed and shook his head. Well, maybe they weren’t as mature as he thought. The story did seem to do the trick, however, as they looked much more energetic than when the class started. It was the first time since the beginning of the semester that Harry had shared anything about his personal life with the kids.

            “Watch your language, Wally, and no it’s not. It’s stupid and childish. Anyway, what I mean to say is that you all worry too much. Everything will be okay in the end.”

            The kids stared at Harry with a different look than usual and he didn’t know what to do. Clearing his throat, he put back on his stern teacher look, hoping that would snap the kids out of it. He glanced at the clock and saw that the whole exchange had taken nearly ten minutes. Quickly turning to the board, Harry began his lesson. His plan was to cram in as much as possible so the students had at least a day in class to review for the test.

            “Today, we’re moving away from momentum to something a little farther out,” shuffling of notebooks came from behind him, “universal gravitation.”

            “As you know, the “g value,” 9.8 meters per second squared, is irrelevant when you’re out of Earth’s gravitational field. However, there is a formula and a universal gravitational constant that can be used to find the force of gravity between any two masses.”

            Harry managed to get to gravity and energy, escape velocity, and Kepler’s Laws of Planetary Motion. More than enough information for the students to take in. Handing out more practice problems for the different aspect of the unit, Harry told them if they had any questions, they could find him in the science office or his room.

            He hadn’t spoken that much to Cisco since their lunch together but whenever they passed in the halls or when he saw the other man in his classroom, Harry had to fight the urge to stare. Although Harry would deny it, one of the things motivating him to finish his work earlier than usual during the midterms was the idea of having more time to talk to Cisco. Something about their conversations always tended to dispel the older man’s stress.

            Another busy lunch commenced as the students hurried to classes to pin down the information they needed to know and the teachers tried to answer their questions the best they could. Harry stayed in his room and immediately began the arduous task of writing comments of “strengths and next steps for improvement” on the report cards. Coming up with strong and weak points for the students wasn’t the time-staking part but rather the looking through marks to pick out what the individual could improve on took a while. The cart on which the laptop sat had a shelf below it which held most of Harry’s belongings that he brought to school. Pushing aside a case of binders, Harry grabbed a pair of white earbuds and connected them to the laptop. Putting on some ambient and downtempo music, Harry drowned out the surrounding noise and began at the top of the grade 12 list.  

            Most said basic things such as “strong grasp on concepts” and “ability to apply knowledge to real-life tasks and situations,” etc, etc. Some stood out both in good and bad ways. Due to such a small class size, Harry was able to get through most of the students with the last ones being his daughter and Wally West.

            _Jesse regularly applied all mechanical principles to a variety of situation and fluently blends the work done in class with the applications in the real world, as shown in her Impulse Control display. She sometimes gets distracted in class or makes unnecessary comments that are off-topic and digress from the lesson at hand. Overall, good work._

            It felt strange to write comments about his daughter that her parent, which was him, was meant to see. Harry removed the buds and rubbed his eyes from under his glasses. _Last one._

            _Wally West shows excellent potential in the area of engineering and physics. He has demonstrated a thorough understanding of concepts and skills as well as the ability to connect information to new units. Continue to push your thinking and put more effort into your participation in class. Also, completion of assigned home and class work is an area of improvement for Wally. Overall, continue to explore and better apply yourself in lessons and concepts._

Another thing about Wally West and his nonchalant attitude towards classes was the fact his dad was the principal. Joe West was a no-bullshit kind of man, but when it came to his kids, he tended to have a soft spot. Wally wasn’t getting bad marks, not at all, which might have been the reason Joe hadn’t had a talk with him, but he could be doing much better. _Not entirely my problem,_ Harry thought to himself as he submitted the report cards. He had done whatever he could but it was beyond him to get Wally to try any harder in his class—he knew—he used to be like him in high school except much worse.

            “Working hard, I see,” a soft voice came from the doorway. Harry leaned to the side as he recognized it. Cisco stood there with a red t-shirt that said “Central City Secondary School” in a large white font. He wore fitting black jeans and worn out black sneakers. Leaning against the doorframe, Cisco smiled at Harry.

            “You’re getting into the school spirit,” Harry replied as Cisco made his way towards him.

            “And you’re not,” he said as he pushed himself up with a grunt to sit on Harry’s desk, “do you wear anything but black—or is that like a physics teacher thing?”

            School spirit days insisted that the teachers and students wear white and red—the school colours—to support the football team in their games. Harry thought it was dumb, especially since he didn’t know nor care about the football team. Not only spirit days, Fridays at CCSS consisted of even dumber events like “camo day” or “silly hat day.” Sometimes, just out of spite, Harry would go out of his way to wear all black.

            Cisco looked up at the ceiling and his long hair fell behind his shrugged shoulders as he leaned back to put weight on his hands. To ensure he didn’t stare for too long, Harry glanced down and smirked when he noticed the other man’s feet way above the ground. Getting up, Harry walked up to Cisco, getting the younger man’s attention. Turning, he pushed himself up with ease to sit on his desk beside Cisco. Amusement rose in him as he saw his feet touch the ground.

            “You’re pretty short,” Harry said, once again stating rather than asking. Cisco glared at Harry and stuck out his lower lip. Though intimidation and offence was most likely the expression he was going for, Harry found it more like an angry puppy than anything else. He glanced at the other man’s mouth, realizing how close they really were.

            “I’m not short,” Cisco said, “I’m 5’7—average height. Not everyone’s a tree like you.”

            Harry laughed, closing his eyes and tilting his head back. When he opened them a few seconds after, he froze. Cisco sat there with his head tilted to the side, smiling warmly at Harry. The same smile that made Harry feel like the brilliant warm hues of the autumn leaves had somehow encapsulated themselves in the man opposite him. His caramel eyes were squinted slightly as they gently flickered between Harry’s own baby blues. Instinctively, Harry smiled coyly, looking away in hopes that Cisco would divert his attention before he melted beneath his gaze. After a moment which seemed longer than what it probably was, Harry cleared his throat, twisting his body to face the doorway rather than the other man. Cisco did the same.

            “So,” Harry began with a voice of signature gruffness, “have you finished your report cards?”

            “I have,” Cisco replied, “and also…would you like to go on a date with me?”

            Harry didn’t register it at first and when he did; his first thought was that it was probably a mild auditory hallucination. He had a crush on Cisco, though he didn’t know it was to a point where his mind would make up things to appease it. Anyway, he should probably get that checked out, like, psychologically, so it doesn’t spiral into actually visualizing himself on a _date_ with Cisco Ramon. Or he could talk to Jesse about it. Maybe that’d be weird, considering she wants him to date Ramon, which would nev—

            “Harry,” Cisco interrupted, his voice concerned, “did you hear me?”

 _Oh,_ was Harry’s only thought. He turned slowly to face Cisco.

            “Uh, I’m sorry, what—a date?” The words felt weird.

            “Yeah, a date, you know, with me hopefully.”

            “I—uh—I’ll have to think about it, I think, or maybe yeah, sure, why not?” Harry managed to fumble out. He hoped he didn’t sound as dazed as he felt, but the likeliness of that was slim. As Cisco stared at him with a raised brow, Harry forced himself to come back to Earth.

            “Sorry, I mean, yeah. I do want to go on a…date with you.”

            Almost immediately, Cisco’s face lit up in excitement. Harry’s heart beat fast in his chest and he was surprised the man opposite him couldn’t hear it. _A date,_ he repeated to himself over and over.

            “Oh, thank god,” Cisco said quickly, “I thought you were gonna laugh at me.”

            “Please,” Harry’s voice was steadier now, “you’re way out of my league for me to laugh.”

            Both men’s heads jerked towards the door at the sound of someone loudly clearing their throat. _Oh no,_ was Harry’s only thought. There at the door stood his one and only daughter; the daughter who would not let him live down any of what she had heard. Jesse looked like she was about to burst out in laughter on the spot. She probably would have if Cisco wasn’t there. Despite the fact she was wearing a red and white oversized t-shirt that made her look like she was 12 years old and grey sweatpants with black doc-martens, she currently had the aura of someone with a lot of leverage and annoy-your-dad material. It was almost terrifying.

            “Hi there, Jesse,” Cisco said as he pushed off the table, “Need help with anything?”

            “Oh, yes, I do. I was wondering how you would derive the total energy formulas for satellite orbits.”

            They spoke casually as if Harry wasn’t sitting there traumatized. His stare flicked back and forth between his daughter and Cisco. Realizing this was probably further fuelling potential material that could be used by Jesse to make fun of him, Harry got off the desk and walked toward them, his arms crossed and a stern but unconvincing expression on his face. Jesse glanced briefly at him, a mischievous look plastered on her face, and smiled warmly at Cisco. The younger man was writing on the chalkboard, oblivious to anything going on behind him.

            “Thanks, Mr Ramon,” Jesse’s voice was sickly-sweet, “I think I can do the rest myself. See you later!”

            Cisco waved at her as she hurriedly left the room. The remaining men stood there in awkward silence as they stared at where Jesse was. A sense of dread loomed over Harry at the thought of what she had to say.

            “Is she gonna torture you?” Cisco asked. Harry nodded solemnly. He snapped out of it as Cisco nudged him in the side and placed a hand on his shoulder.

            “Also, would you mind if I picked the spot? I was thinking maybe a six o’clock dinner if that’s okay with you. I can pick you up.” Harry nearly forgot he was talking about the date. Not trusting himself to formulate a dignified response, he merely nodded in response. Cisco stood there, awaiting some sort of answer, though Harry didn’t know what.

            “Uh, Harry, I’m gonna need an address.”

            “Oh, yeah, sorry, my address is 1680 George Street.”

            With a nod and another wonderful smile, Cisco turned to leave, dropping his arm off Harry’s shoulder. The taller man held his breath as he felt Cisco’s finger drag down his arm. At the door, Cisco turned and gave a wink with a small wave. Harry nearly tripped over himself.


	5. j'ai vécu un peu ottawa

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> LISTEN i wanted to talk abt canada bc im canadian and so is tom cavanagh lmao. and also i think harry knowing french is godtier headcanon! aaa if u wanna ask me something or give me input, feel free to comment ! i love reading them omg

            Various outfits lay sprawled on Harry’s otherwise put together bed. He stood in front of the selection of primarily black clothes and stared in thought and focus. His brows were furrowed in concentration as his eyes flickered from one outfit to another. Though he isn’t usually one to ‘dress up,’ Harry felt the need to put some thought into what he was going to wear. Nearly fifteen minutes had passed since he had picked out three outfits from his already small selection of clothing and he hadn’t made an ounce of progression. It was nearly six o’clock and with each passing minute, Harry felt his anxiety rise.

            Letting out a groan of frustration, the man contemplated just asking Jesse to pick for him, forgetting all the annoying, teasing comments he would have to deal with in the process. She’s a teenager; she probably had tips on some sort of acceptable first-date style. With a sigh, Harry turned and fell backwards onto the bed, wincing as he felt the buttons of one of the suits jackets push into his skin. Adjusting, he lay there in silence, wondering why he had agreed to a date in the first place. His eyes followed the grains of the ceiling that created interesting shapes from the bright light hitting them.

            He kept his eyes open until they began to burn and finally let his head fall to the side to study the rest of his minimally decorated and overly tidy room—anything to get his mind off the upcoming date. Every time he said that word in his head, a strange feeling came with it. He hadn’t been on any sort of date since Tess, no matter Jesse’s incessant prods to get him to give someone a chance. The dark brown nightstand holding a single lamp and Harry’s phone provided no answers and Harry focused his attention on the door instead. He felt his heart skip a beat as it opened suddenly, slamming into the wall.

            Jesse barged in with a suspicious glint in her eye. She studied her dad as he remained frozen over the clothes. They remained in silence and Harry could see the cogs in her brain piecing together what she saw. When it finally clicked, her eyes lit up, a wide grin spreading across her face. Harry let out an involuntary sigh as he realized he wouldn’t be able to lie to her; he couldn’t outsmart Jesse. She closed the door gingerly, trying to dial down her excitement as she walked towards Harry.

            Finally getting up, Harry moved over to offer her space on the bed. She jumped onto it and punched Harry’s shoulder.

            “Ow,” his voice was dripping with annoyance, “what do you want?”

            “I wanna know what you’re doing for your date tonight with Mr Ramon.” Just like Harry, she was straight to the point. No beating around the bush. Harry cringed as she emphasized the word ‘date.’ He shrugged and told her it was Cisco’s idea.

            Glancing at the clothes laying on the bed, Jesse jumped up and put her hands on her hips, she stared at Harry and the clothes with great concentration. Harry sighed once again as she pulled him up off the selection of outfits. With fingers on her chin, she stood in the same stance that Harry had only minutes before.

            “It’s a nice selection of…black, dad,” she said sarcastically. Harry shrugged.

            “Black is basically all I own,” he replied.

            “Well, if I had to choose,” Jesse said as she grabbed a black dress-shirt made of somewhat thin material and some black dress pants. For the rare occasions of when Harry had to go to important meetings or conferences, he wore those pants.

            “I think these would look nice,” she said, holding them up for her dad to try on. Eyeing the clock on the wall beside the bed, Harry realized he would have to make a decision soon. Reluctantly, he agreed to try them on, resulting in a nearly-squealing Jesse who hurried out of the room, babbling about how excited she was.

            The shirt fit snugly but wasn’t constricting and the pants fit perfectly. Tucking the shirt into his pants, Harry put a slightly worn black belt on to ensure the somewhat silky shirt didn’t slip out. Though Harry hated looking in a mirror when trying to determine whether he looks good or not, he pushed through. Compared to the well put together outfit, his hair looked like a complete mess. It stuck out in several different directions and was fluffed high. He realized that that’s how his hair always was and shrugged. A dolled-up outfit was good enough. An urgent knock on the on his door interrupted him and Harry grunted in response.

            Jesse stopped before she even fully entered the room as she saw Harry. Her eyes were wide and somehow, she looked more animated than before. Moving closer, she studied his outfit, trying to pick out flaws that could be fixed.

            “Okay, you look date ready, but,” she reached out and pulled his shirt up slightly from his pants, “you don’t have to look so much like a dad.”

            “I am a dad, though,” Harry said as he lightly smacked her hand away before she could tinker even more with his clothes.

            At the sharp ring of the doorbell, both Harry and Jesse’s heads turned to stare at the door. After a moment of being frozen in place, Jesse jumped into action, essentially pushing her dad downstairs and to the door. Harry was able to wrestle out and grab a pair of his nicest black shoes. They could have used a shining but they weren’t the worst. As he put them on over his mismatching but still both black socks, a sense of minor panic rose in him as he heard Jesse open the door. She greeted the visitor with a sweet voice and kept her end of the conversation not too eager, but not too indifferent. Harry nearly laughed at how alike they could sometimes be. When she needed to, Jesse was a master at feigning knowledge to gain more information. Before things got out of hand, Harry grabbed his wallet and hurried to the door, pushing his daughter out of the way.

            Ignoring her protests, Harry smiled at Cisco, hoping he was doing a good job of hiding the butterflies in his stomach as he saw the other man. Cisco wore dark, fitted jeans and a dark blue button-up shirt. The outfit was tied together with an even darker blue blazer and a pair of black dress shoes. Maybe it was the way Cisco carried himself but Harry felt like the other man knew completely what he was doing and that he himself was just playing dress up. Harry brought up a hand to stroke his arm in an effort to ease his anxiety. Noticing the other man’s nervousness, Cisco grabbed Harry by the hands and pulled him out the door. With a quick goodbye to Jesse, Cisco waved and let go of Harry’s hand when they reached the middle of the driveway. His Toyota was parked at the end and Harry came to stop as he reached it. Turning around, he looked to see where Jesse was. Standing at the door with a giant smile on her face, she gave two thumbs up.

            Rolling his eyes, Harry turned to open the door to the passenger seat. Although he had already been in Cisco’s car, Harry felt different than the last time. His anxiety had already somewhat dissipated when Cisco had actually shown up rather than leaving Harry to wait for him and explaining on Monday why he was so busy. He felt that anxiety slowly rising once again when it finally daunted on him that he had no idea how this date was going to begin, where they were going, or what the plans for the evening were. Harry didn’t like surprises because he couldn’t plan for them. He was just so dazed at the idea of Cisco showing any interest in him that he had agreed without giving much thought to it. Breathing deeply, Harry tried to push the worrying thoughts away from his mind the best he could.

            “Ready?” Cisco said as he got into the driver’s seat. Harry nodded quickly in response. He wanted to tell Cisco how great he looked but he didn’t trust himself to formulate a sentence rather a jumbling incoherent sequence of words.

            The sky had already begun to darken and was a dark blue. It was still light enough, however, that the streetlights hadn’t yet turned on. The streets were relatively empty and they passed only a handful of people as they made their way down the road. Harry didn’t really go to restaurants or various shops often unless he had to for some special occasion so he didn’t have a single clue as to where Cisco was taking them. They continued to drive silently as Cisco turned right. The silence wasn’t uncomfortable—quite the opposite actually; they both enjoyed the view of the neighbourhoods as they were painted blue from the sky. Harry opened his window slightly and when Cisco didn’t say anything, opened it all the way. The breeze was refreshing and cool as it passed through the car. Harry could feel it on his skin through his shirt and he closed his eyes, breathing in the crisp air.

            Turning his head slightly so that it faced slightly towards the other man, Harry eyed him out the corner of his eyes. The breeze lifted his hair slightly and it shifted over his shoulders and cheeks. Though he tried to make sure Cisco didn’t notice him staring, the younger man’s eyes shifted for a couple of seconds to catch Harry’s gaze and he smiled. Turning his attention back to the road, he finally spoke.

            “Look at you,” his voice was as soft as his hair looked, “thanks for making an effort.”

            “Please,” Harry replied as he looked in front of him, “compared to how you look, I might as well be in pajamas.”

            Cisco laughed and Harry smiled as well. _So far, so good. Don’t fuck it up,_ a nagging voice in Harry’s head said. A small grin remained on Cisco’s lips as they came to a stop at a red light. He finally turned his full attention to Harry.

            “Seriously though, you’re really pulling off that tall, dark, handsome kind of look.”

            Harry felt himself blush as his chest tightened in a feeling of something he couldn’t pin down. Maybe it was excitement, happiness, or maybe it was both. _Handsome,_ Harry thought, scoffing.

            “Thanks,” the older man said sheepishly, “don’t laugh but Jesse picked it out. I’m hopeless when it comes to clothes.”

            “She has good taste,” Cisco replied, “of course, I already knew that. Her dad agreed to go on a date with a gem like me.”

            “A gem, huh,” Harry teased, “we’ll see.”

            The light turned green and the car accelerated smoothly. After a couple more minutes of driving, they finally reached a small, fancy looking restaurant. A clean, white sign said “étudie” in small, black font. The same words were written on the large windows that showed off the interior of the restaurant. Harry appreciated the minimalism of it.

            The car beeped behind them as Cisco locked the door. As Harry opened the door and held it for Cisco, a little bell jingled. The smell of the food emitting from the kitchen hit Harry before they even got to the end of a four-step white staircase. A blend of a variety of savoury aromas delightfully filled the air. They waited in front of a black stand that looked a lot like a podium. A man with dirty blonde hair that was carefully brushed and pampered came up to the stand and asked them for their names. He wore a dark-red and black suit, complete with a black tie, and looked through a list in front of him as Cisco told him who they were. Nodding and gesturing them to follow, he headed up the staircase and guided them to a table near the wall to their immediate right. A card plaque sat at the centre of a clean, white dish-clothed table. _Mr Ramon & Mr Wells._

            Thanking the man, they both took a seat and got comfortable. Harry admired the beauty of the restaurant. It wasn’t furnished with many painting or ornaments, but the black and white colour scheme that contrasted beautifully with the occasional pops of blood-red made the interior pleasing to the eye. Harry noticed that Cisco was eyeing him as he studied the restaurant and flashed his eyes to the small menu in front of him. Like the rest of the surroundings, the menu was a black with white lettering. It was lined with a red border that contained swirls of roses. It was almost as beautiful as the restaurant itself.

            Cisco looked briefly over the menu and back up again at Harry, who sat there with furrowed brows, trying to decide what to get. His not-so-subtly-addicted-to-Big-Belly-Burger brain immediately gravitated to something called “Bacon Burgers with Bourbon Caramelized Onions & Honey Goat Cheese.” _Might be good,_ Harry thought, _definitely not as good as a Big Belly Burger._ In the end, he decided to go for the rib-eye steak. Placing the menu down, Harry caught Cisco’s gaze.

            “What’re you ordering?” Harry asked, trying not to notice how soft other man’s lips looked.

            “Same as always,” Cisco replied, “fettuccine pasta.”

            He said it like it was the love of his life and Harry chuckled. Cisco raised an eyebrow and gestured towards Harry.

            “I’m getting the rib-eye,” he hoped he didn’t sound like he had as little restaurant experience as he actually did, “medium-rare.”

            “Nice choice,” Cisco replied with a wink. Harry had to avoid eye contact to not go red. As he looked around, he realized that there wasn’t anyone else in the restaurant. Noticing his gaze, Cisco explained.

            “Not many people come here on Saturdays. The weekdays are the busy ones.”

            “You seem to know a lot about this place.”

            Cisco shrugged. “My brother owns it actually. I come here quite often to see how he’s doing. Plus the food’s not half-bad.”

            _A brother,_ Harry thought, _wonder if he’s as pretty as you are._ The same waiter interrupted his thoughts as he seemed to appear out of nowhere at their table.

            “May I take your order?”

            They passed on their orders for both the food and their wine, thanking him as he left. They fell back into silence and Harry contemplated if he should try starting a conversation or not. It might be awkward if he tried to force it. Fortunately, Cisco took the lead.

            “You do know how good you look right now, right?” Well, that wasn’t what Harry expected. Feeling his ears heating up, Harry avoided eye contact.

            “I—uh—I mean,” he fumbled, “thank you. I don’t think I look that…good. I mean I look like a put in an effort but I don’t look anything like you do.”

            “And what do I look like?” Cisco asked. His eyes were bright as the soft lights of the restaurant reflected from them. The usually black irises shone slightly brown. Harry was mesmerized. Taking a deep breath, Harry decided to stop thinking. Whatever happens, happens.

            “You look handsome.” This time his voice was steady.

            Cisco laughed and Harry’s confidence faltered. _That was a dumb thing to say,_ his thoughts returned to berate him, _God, I’m stupid._ Cisco placed his elbows on the table and placed his chin in his palms. An admiring smile played on his lips as well as his soft eyes which narrowed ever so slightly.

            “I cannot believe you think you look ‘ _okay’_ and _I_ look handsome,” Cisco said, “tell me one thing about yourself that looks just _‘okay.’_ ”

            Harry gathered himself and it didn’t take long to think of things.

            “Well, for one, my hair is a mess, like always, and also these clothes probably look stupid on me. I don’t have the confidence you do to wear them.”

            “Okay, first of all,” Cisco began immediately as Harry finished, “you hair is adorable and I love how floofy it is—yes, that’s a scientific term—and also you definitely have the body and posture to carry those clothes off. You’re _very_ handsome and you’re built like an Instagram model, and those clothes fit you perfectly. Trust me; I’ve stared long enough to notice.”

            Harry opened his mouth to say something— _anything—_ but failed as it shut closed by itself. Adorable wasn’t a word someone had ever used to describe him and ‘Instagram model” meant as much to him as whatever Jesse’s biology homework was talking about. Also, _what the hell._ What did he mean by he’s stared long enough to notice? Harry knew he kept fit but he didn’t think he had a body that warranted a stare from someone like Cisco. A sudden urge to one-up Cisco suddenly overcame him. God, the Wells were a competitive bunch.

            “Floofy isn’t a scientific term and you’re the pretty one. I see the fall leaves when you smile.” Harry cringed as soon as he said it. That might’ve been too weighted.

            “Fall leaves,” Cisco repeated, “dying, crunchy, and a mess?”

            “No,” Harry replied immediately, “brilliantly bright, warm, and colourful. Beautiful.”

            _Well, no going back now,_ Harry thought. His nervousness disappeared when Cisco smiled the most earnest smile he had ever seen. If they weren’t in such a fancy and public place, Harry would’ve melted right there in his chair. Instead, he smiled back.

            “Thank you,” Cisco spoke softly, “but I am a mess. Just warning you.”

            Harry and Cisco both laughed. Two waiters came to their table as they shifted their attention. One of them carried both of their plates while the other held two wine glasses in one hand and two wine bottles on a large white dish. Placing the orders down with a smile, the waiter bowed a little and left. The man with the wine described the taste of both using convincing but probably meaningless words. “Complex, fruity, nutty, floral, etc.”  Harry had ordered Cabernet Sauvignon and Cisco has ordered Chardonnay. Cisco only drank a little as he was still going to drive.

            As they ate and drank, Cisco cracked jokes and lead most of the conversation while Harry added some stories and jokes as well. Other than that, Harry listened intently to the younger man, absorbing every piece of information he provided. Another one of those ‘things he shouldn’t notice but does notice” that Harry found endearing was how whenever Cisco ate a forkful of pasta, he closed his eyes for a brief moment whenever it touched his tongue. The night went by fast as they both finished their wines and meals; they sat and continued to talk. Harry noticed that when Cisco talked about his family, he only really regarded his brother and no one else. He also noticed that Cisco was a natural flirt and was somehow able to sneak in a word or two that would make Harry blush.

            When the check came, Harry asked if they were going to split the bill. Cisco looked at him incredulously.

            “Harry, I’m the one who asked you out; I have to pay.”

            Opening his mouth to insist, Harry froze when Cisco’s hand shot up to his face and he placed his index finger on the older man’s lips, shushing him. After a second, he brought it back down and pulled cash out of his wallet. Harry couldn’t help but lick his lips as the pressure of the other man’s finger lingered on them. Without meaning to, Harry’s mind wondered how it would taste if Cisco’s fingers were on his mouth still. Shaking his head to dispel such thoughts, Harry got up after Cisco.

            The waiters came out to say goodbye and Cisco thanked them, waving goodbye. The cool air of the evening was a refreshing feeling as Harry closed his eyes and tilted his head back, breathing in deeply. When he opened them, he noticed Cisco stood in front of him, his back to where the car was parked. His head was tilted to the side as he studied Harry. There was a glint in his eyes.

            “Wanna get ice-cream?” Cisco asked as he walked towards Harry till he was only a couple feet away. Harry looked surprised. He actually hadn’t had ice-cream in quite a while.

            “Uh, sure,” Harry said, “where to?”

            With a smirk, Cisco once again grabbed Harry’s hand and pulled him towards the car. Quickly getting in, Cisco drove down another unfamiliar road. Harry looked at “étudie” as it shrunk in the mirror.

            “I wanted to ask you,” Harry remembered, “why is the restaurant called ‘study’?”

            “Oh my god,” Cisco replied, flashing a glance to Harry, “don’t tell me you speak French, too. That’d be _way_ too sexy.”

            “Je parle francais Canadien,” Harry said with a wink. He laughed as Cisco’s jaw dropped low and eyes widened in exaggerated surprise.

            “Seriously, where’d you learn that?”

            “I lived in Canada for a bit actually—in Ottawa," Harry explained, “picked up French there.”

            “Not gonna lie,” Cisco replied, “If you said literally anything to me in French, I would be intrigued…in many ways.”

 _Good to know,_ Harry thought. He chuckled outwardly to refrain from turning red at the thought of him speaking French to an enthralled Cisco. Harry’s attention snapped up to look through the front windows as they neared a familiar building. The yellow and red logo was a welcoming sign, _Big Belly Burger._ The excitement must’ve been apparent on Harry’s face because Cisco punched him gently on the arm.

            “Stop being cute,” Cisco said as Harry looked at him.

            They went through the drive-through and ordered two vanilla cones. A young boy who looked at them suspiciously handed them the ice-cream and Cisco paid for it. Harry couldn’t remember nor understand why he stopped eating ice cream as he tried not to demolish his cone in three bites.

            As they exited the parking lot of the Big Belly Burger and began making their way home, Harry had finished his ice cream. He watched as it dripped onto Cisco’s hand and the younger man cursed. Harry gulped instinctively as he watched Cisco lick the back of his hand and drag his tongue up the cone of the ice cream. Quickly, Harry was extremely interested in the buttons and dials in front of him. Cisco followed his gaze and turned on the radio.

            The sky was a dark blue and a handful of stars shone brightly. The streetlights lit up the roads and Harry glanced at each one as they passed. The music was a low, soothing tempo. It was talking about something like love or maybe the loss of love, he couldn’t tell. The drive back seemed a lot shorter than the drive to the restaurant and Harry found that he was disappointed when they arrived at his house. The night had been perfect and Harry was glad he hadn’t screwed it up.

            Jumping out of the passenger’s seat, Harry walked around the car and to the window of the driver’s seat. Cisco rolled down the window and leaned out to talk to Harry. Though he had become more comfortable with talking to the man, Harry found he couldn’t find a suitable way to say goodbye.

            “I—uh—really enjoyed tonight,” he felt cheesy, “it was fun. Thanks for putting up with me. I mean—I guess—thanks for taking me out. That sounds stupid, sorry.”

            “Harry,” Cisco interrupted before he could continue to babble, “how about a kiss goodbye.”

            At first, Harry didn’t think he heard him right and when he realized he had, panic sets in. _Okay, wait,_ Harry thought, _kiss…him._ Maybe it was because Harry hadn’t dated in a while or maybe it was the fact that he hadn’t kissed another man before, Harry had a hard time believing that Cisco (who he most definitely wanted to kiss) wanted a kiss on the first date.

            “Uh, a kiss?” That was all Harry could manage. Cisco waited for Harry to continue. When he remained silent, Cisco chuckled.

            “If you don’t want to or if you’d feel uncomfortable, you don’t have to. I’m just giving an offer.”

            Harry thought for a second—or maybe longer than a second. Once again he decided to make a checklist like the scientist and teacher he was.

  * Do I want to? _Yes, I definitely do._
  * Should I? _Why not?_
  * He is a co-worker. _The date already happened. I called him beautiful. Cat’s out._
  * Is a first date kiss weird? _Since when do I care about normality?_



_Fuck it,_ was Harry’s final thought as he leaned in. Cisco inched forward as well and their lips met. If wasn’t a long kiss but it was enough time that Harry was able to feel the intricacies of the other man’s lips. They were just as soft as they looked and they had the bright flavour of Chardonnay. Pulling away, Harry couldn’t help but smile and Cisco didn’t try to hide it either. Harry turned his ice-blue eyes to those of Cisco’s caramel browns. They kept eye contact in silence and Harry glanced down at Cisco’s lips. His tongue which was barely visible in the now nearly black sky peeked out from his mouth. He licked his lips.

            “Dad,” Jesse’s voice called out from the slightly opened door, “are you back?”

            Harry turned and waved to her and Cisco yelled hello. Jesse responded and stared at the two before slipping back inside. Harry and Cisco looked at each other and after a brief moment, began laughing. Saying a final goodbye, Harry turned to leave and glanced back once to find Cisco watching him walk to the door. He looked back again as he heard the car accelerate down the road.

            Once again, Harry paused and closed his eyes. He breathed in the night air and tried to understand how he felt about all of this. Of course, he still had doubts, more about himself than Cisco and he still didn’t know if it was the best idea. What he did know was that it felt good to be with Cisco. It felt right and he had enjoyed every minute. Why wouldn’t that be a good thing?

            Harry’s mind went back to the kiss and it lingered on it. His groaned inwardly when he remembered the onslaught of questions he’s about to receive when he walks into his house. With a reluctant sigh, he walks in to see a grinning Jesse.

            If this is what he had to deal with to…do whatever it was they were doing with Cisco, Harry could get used to it.


	6. princess bride

            On Sunday, Harry’s day consisted of marking, inputting information, more marking, preparing lessons, and—oh, marking. He began at ten in the morning and finished everything at three in the afternoon. Everything had blurred together and Harry could barely keep his eyes from going out of focus every time he tried to count up the marks on repetitive assignments. Jesse had checked up on him between her studying sessions to make sure he hadn’t lost his mind. As she popped her head in the room, Harry looked up this time from his finished work and waved. His throat was too dry from the lack of use and dehydration to say hello.

            “Are you hungry?” She asked as she walked into the room, rubbing her eyes. Jesse had also been immersed in her work since the morning. Harry got up from the grey couch in their living room with a groan. Though the couch was quite comfortable, sitting on it for five hours straight made it feel like Harry’s butt had gone numb. His legs felt stiff and his spine protested as it straightened.

            “Yeah,” Harry strained as he stretched carefully, “I’ll make it. You take a break, too. You’ve done more than enough studying.”

            “I’ve got a bio test a day before the physics test, dad,” Jesse said, “I have to study.” Harry looked at her for a moment and then walked up, placing a hand on her shoulder and spinning her. With an arm around her, he ushered Jesse out of the living room and into the kitchen. She seemed too tired to protest.

            “Come on,” Harry said, “we’ll both make something. It won’t take that long.”

            Though Jesse wasn’t as bad as him, Harry knew she could push herself to the point where it was bad. Sometimes, if she was worried about a test or something coming up, she would stay up nearly all night ensuring that she learned everything and that the work she did was the best. Harry brought her meals and snacks throughout these periods but he knew how irritated she would get if he insisted she should sleep or leave it for another time. He tended to leave it and just tried to keep her fed and attempted to distract her from the work for as long as he could. This habit had petered out since the beginning of high school as Jesse learned how to manage her time but still occurred once in a while, especially during times like midterms or exams.

            Harry, on the other hand, disregarded most of his needs such as food, water, rest, etc. if he needed to finish or wanted to finish something. He was able to cope with it for quite a while before he collapsed from exhaustion since he was used to the state. Knowing himself, he ensured that Jesse wouldn’t pick up his bad habits.

            Opening some cabinets and doors, Harry took out some pasta, tomato sauce, parmesan cheese, herbs, garlic and onion, and sriracha. Glancing at Jesse as he grabbed a pot and placed it on the stove, he saw she stood leaning against the wall, holding a half-eaten apple in one hand. Harry rolled his eyes and gestured her to come over. She sighed but obeyed.

            “Do you want pasta?” Harry asked. She nodded indifferently. As he prepared the pasta and chopped herbs, garlic, and onion, Harry realized that Jesse hadn’t bugged him about Cisco since the day started. Usually, if Harry even showed passing or fleeting interest in someone, Jesse wouldn’t shut up about it for a week. _Looks like she’s stressed about school,_ Harry thought. The salted water boiled softly beside him and Harry dropped a handful of pasta into it.

            “Have you seen my hat, by the way?” Harry asked her as he stared at her from the corner of his eyes. “I might have left it in Ramon’s car.”

            As Jesse’s eyes lit up with curiosity and surprise that Harry would bring Cisco up, Harry refrained from sighing out loud. His intent was to make her seem a little less dispirited but he regretted bringing up his date. He hadn’t even brought a hat with him so he didn’t know why he chose that as the talking point.

            “No, I haven’t” Jesse replied casually, “maybe you should text him or, you know, call him—possibly on speaker phone.”

            “I didn’t get his number. Jesse,” Harry lied. Cisco had given him his number when Harry had wondered how to contact him for possible supply teaching in the future.

            “Oh, so you went on a date with your co-worker, who you see five days a week and who also happens to be one of my teachers, and you didn’t bother to get a number first? That’s not very “plan before acting” of you.”

            Harry always stressed to Jesse how she should learn to never accept anything or do anything unless she had planned beforehand and had all the knowledge to succeed. “Plan before acting” was a phrase he said quite often when he went on one of his well-known tangents. Harry winced as she said it—not only because his entire plan of teaching had backfired, but also because he knew she didn’t believe him. Jesse kept going before Harry could reply.

            “Where did you two budding lovebirds go anyway? You said a restaurant but which one? Was it fancy and romantic, like, with candles and staring longingly at each other?”

            “Okay,” Harry interrupted, “what we’re not gonna do is talk about my date and what we _are_ gonna do is make some pasta. Come on.”

            Though she looked significantly less stressed, Harry wondered if her sneaking in comments about him and Cisco was anything better. He decided that if she was happy, he can deal with it. That didn’t mean he wasn’t gonna retort, though.

            The pasta came together quite quickly but Harry’s patience was wearing thin as his daughter ensured everything looked good, despite the fact they were going to eat it on the couch while they watched TV. Before she could make any more adjustments, Harry grabbed his bowl and a fork, moving quickly to the living room. Jesse yelled at him but followed. Because Harry rarely watched what was on TV currently and spent most of his free time watching cult-classics or movies from a little further back, he let Jesse choose the show. Something called “Black Mirror” flashed on the TV mounted on the wall as Jesse manoeuvred through Netflix expertly. Even before Harry could ask questions about it, Jesse shushed him and told him to just watch.

            It was…dark, to say the least. Jesse explained that each episode was different and didn’t have anything to with each other as it had all new characters and settings. In this one, a girl wakes up and can’t remember anything. Everyone she sees if filming her and refused to communicate with her. Harry was fascinated at the twists and turns and morbid outcome of the episode. He sat there with his mouth slack and pasta all finished. Jesse sat beside him, leaning forward in her seat, her face brimming with shock, excitement, and awe. It might’ve been a little concerning that this is what his daughter watched in her free time if he himself hadn’t enjoyed it.

            Setting his bowl on the sleek glass table in front of them, Harry grabbed the remote sitting on Jesse’s lap, which was now covered with a blanket, and clicked the off button. Almost immediately, Jesse sighed and fell back onto the couch. Turning to face him, Harry realized how tired she really was. He felt a pang of sympathy for her, knowing how hard it was to juggle between high-level classes like hers. A thought came to his head that he knew would work but one that he didn’t really want to do.

            “If you really wanna know about Ramon and me,” Harry said reluctantly, “then I’ll tell you.” Once again, Jesse’s face lit up as she nodded quickly, pulling the blanket up. The empty bowl of pasta clattered as the soft green fabric moved beneath it. Harry placed it on the table.

            “Okay,” he readied himself, “what do you want to know?”

            “Where’d you two go?”

            “His brother’s restaurant “étudie,’” Harry responded, “and yes, it was fancy and romantic and there was wine.”

            “What did you two talk about?”

            Harry remembered how Cisco admitted he checked him out a lot and how Harry had called the other man ‘beautiful.’ Hoping his face hadn’t begun to turn red, Harry cleared his throat.

            “Oh, you know, this and that,” he said as he glanced around. Jesse raised her brows, unimpressed. Harry sighed, giving in.

            “We talked about school, his family, my past, he made a lot of jokes, and I told him he was—uh…I complimented him. He did the same.” Harry realized he was rambling. Jesse noticed, of course.

            “Hm,” she said playfully, “yeah, he was pretty handsome yesterday with his hair and fancy clothes.” Harry rolled his eyes.

            “What is it with everyone and his hair?” He asked. Without a doubt, his hair was one of Harry’s favourite things about the other man but he had _many_ other appealing features.

            “It just looks soft,” Jesse’s eyes lit up, “oh my god, was his hair soft?”

            “I didn’t feel his hair, Jesse,” Harry replied quickly, feeling himself blush, “it was the first date. We were just getting to know each other. It wasn’t like we kiss—uh, well, I mean it’s not like we’re a _thing_ now.”

            “A _thing_ , dad? Come on, call it what it is, you two are gonna start dating. Like boyfriend-boyfriend thing.”

            At that, Harry stood up and ended the question and answer session. That’s enough mild interrogation from his daughter for today. Picking up the bowls, Harry walked to the kitchen and placed them into the sink. Jesse followed after him and Harry asked her if she had to study.

            “Nah,” she shrugged, “I’ve got it down.”

            As she turned to go back to her room, Harry realized that Jesse had just played him. The whole “I’m stressed out about these two subjects that I’m at the top of my class in” spiel was an act to get him to somehow trap him into talking about his date _willingly_. Oh my god, she was _much_ too smart for her own good. Harry felt a sense of annoyance and pride as she made her way up the stairs. With a groan, Harry went back to the living room and submitted the last of his work. Officially free of any upcoming tasks, Harry closed his eyes and leaned back on the sofa.

            The burn of his eyes was more apparent as he squeezed them shut, trying to get a brief amount of relief. The silence was calming enough that Harry felt he could fall asleep right then and there. He would have too if his phone hadn’t rung. The piercing noise cut through his efforts to get rest and he winced. _Come on, it’s Sunday._ Harry tried to figure out who in the world would call him on the two days of the week where he didn’t have to stand up for hours on end and deal with teenagers. The phone kept ringing, vibrating on the glass table. Forcing himself to get up, Harry grabbed it and stared at the screen.

            ‘Cisco Ramon’ flashed brightly on the screen and Harry felt his heart speed up. Wanting to let it keep ringing until he found a way to respond, Harry had to make a decision soon as Cisco had been calling for about twenty seconds already. Once again, saying “ _fuck it”_ and acting without thinking, Harry clicked on the green phone icon. The jarring silence as the ringtone stopped cause a sense of panic to rise in Harry. He tried to speak with a steady voice.

            “Hello?” He didn’t know if he should say the other man’s name or not.

            “Hi, Harry,” Cisco said from the other end, “how’s it going?”

            “Uh, I’m good. What about you?”

            “I’m doing alright.”

            Harry didn’t respond. He didn’t know what to say. It would have helped if he knew with what purpose the other man was calling with—whether it was professional or personal.

            “Do you need something?” Harry said, wincing as he realized how that sounded.

            “Not really,” Cisco replied and Harry could hear the amused smile on his face, “I was just checking on you. Do _you_ need something?”

            “You just saw me yesterday, Ramon. I haven’t had a breakdown in less than 20 hours—no need to worry.”

            Cisco laughed and Harry couldn’t help but smile. He grabbed the blanket that Jesse had used and pulled it to cover himself, getting more comfortable as he nuzzled into it.

            “I finished all my midterm report cards and mark updates,” Harry continued, “what about you?”

            “Me too,” Cisco replied, “That’s why I called you. Not gonna lie, I got bored.”

            “Oh, so what, you’re only going to call when you’re bored, Ramon?”

            “I can call more often if you’d like, though I’d much prefer seeing your face.”

            Harry felt himself redden and he realized how inane it was that he got embarrassed over a phone call. A smile still played at his lips, nonetheless, at the fact Cisco wanted to see him. His face dropped when he heard a creak at the stairs. Jesse let out a noise, knowing she was found out.

            “One second, Ramon,” Harry said quietly, turning his attention to the stairs. Jesse leaned her head into view and smiled weakly.

            “Jesse, not now,” Harry hissed. He heard Cisco stir on the other side and listened.

            “Oh, is that Jesse? Tell her I say ‘hi!’” Cisco said cheerfully.

            “I’d rather not,” Harry mumbled back. The other man insisted and Harry sighed.

            “Ramon says hello, Jesse.”

            “Hi!” She replied excitedly, then, “Tell him I asked, ‘what are your intentions with my dad?’”

            “ _Absolutely_ not,” Harry said, “go to your room.”

            Turning his attention back to Cisco, Harry waited till he heard Jesse’s protests fade away as she headed back up the stairs.

            “She says hello.”

            “Hm,” Cisco said jovially, “I was wondering, when are you free again? I was hoping we could go out—if you want, of course.”

             “Uh, I—I’m,” Harry mumbled, “I’m free whenever, you know, I’m free tonight and anytime after school, I think.”

            “Oh,” Cisco was surprised, “I’m free tonight as well. Want me to pick you up?” Well, that was an unexpected turn of Harry’s Sunday night.

            “Sure, I’ll be ready whenever you get here. Where are we going?”

            “Actually, I was thinking maybe my house? We can watch some shitty movies and try and put some weight on you. Trust me; I have _a lot_ of snacks.”

            The second date—if it was that—and it was at Cisco’s _house_. Harry couldn’t help but think about the implications of that. Of course, they wouldn’t do anything but nonetheless, Harry’s heart sped up at the thought. _At least I won’t have to dress up._ Harry remembered Jesse and realized by no means could he tell her that he was going over to Cisco’s house to watch movies—on his couch…together.

            “Yeah, that sounds good. I’ll see you.” Harry replied.

            “Okay! See you in thirty minutes.”

            The beep from the phone ended the conversation but Harry kept it to his ear for a moment. He thought about how it was somewhat strange how comfortable he felt with Cisco. Comfortable enough that he didn’t mind going to his house to laze around when their first date was just yesterday. It kind of scared him how fast things were progressing but it didn’t feel like anything had changed, except that there was a man made of literal sunshine who was interested in him. That didn’t seem too bad. Though Harry didn’t mean to, his pessimistic state of mind immediately went to the thought of when it would end. _Of course, it’ll end,_ Harry thought, _only the second date but it’ll end._ He decided that he’ll just have to enjoy it while it lasted.

            This time Jesse didn’t try to hide her steps and bounded down the stairs. Harry turned to look at her, watching suspiciously as she neared him. He rolled his eyes at the poor attempt to mask her curiosity and excitement.

            “So,” she said with a mischievous lilt, “what was that about? Did he have your hat?”

            “None of your business,” Harry replied quickly. His voice dropped in confidence as he told her he was going out.

            “Where are you two going? Another fancy, _romantic_ restaurant? Or ice skating like in the movies? Oh my god, are you two gonna have an adult sleepover?” Jesse spoke too quickly for Harry to interrupt.

            “Okay,” Harry snapped, “I’m not telling you and I’ll be back in a few hours. I’m leaving in half an hour and _you_ are going to stop bugging me about it or I’ll make your test extra hard.”

            “Dad, you have to know by now that a harder test is just a fun challenge to me.”

             Getting up, Harry messed her hair and began walking to the bathroom. He stopped as Jesse spoke.

            “Are you gonna need help to get dressed?”

            “It’s not that kind of date,” Harry said without thinking. He cringed as Jesse’s eyes lit up, the working cogs in her mind basically visible.

            “No more questions,” Harry interrupted as she opened her mouth to respond. He turned and continued to walk.

            Despite disliking the whole “fixing hair, picking clothes, adding cologne” process, Harry decided to make sure he looked presentable. Usually, he looked pretty much the same with his wild hair and black clothes. He splashed cold water onto his face and dried it off. As he studied his face, Harry realized how tired he looked. He’s never _not_ looked tired but that melded poorly with his unkempt hair. Pushing it down with his hand and some water, Harry sighed in defeat as it popped back up. _Oh well_. Cisco liked his ‘floofy’ hair anyway.

            He contemplated changing into jeans instead of black sweatpants but went against the idea at the thought of the effort. His current outfit was a black long-sleeved sweater paired with black sweatpants and, like usual, mismatched socks. _Whatever,_ Harry thought. He was too tired.

            The time since the call and when Cisco was supposed to pick him went by fast. Harry cleaned up the house, picking up Jesse’s school stuff and any clothes that she tended to throw on the furniture when she got home. He was studying his own organized mess of school papers when the bell rang. Harry turned quickly and headed towards the door before Jesse could answer it again. It was to no avail as Jesse jumped down the stairs and ran to the door. She answered it out of breath.

            “Hey, hello, Mr Ramon,” she beamed brightly, “my dad will get here soon.”

            Harry tried to push her out of the way as she finished her sentence but this time spun out of the way, a wide grin present on her face. She waved as she left them and Cisco waved back. Harry felt relief as he realized the other man hadn’t put much effort into his outfit. He wore a dark green shirt with a science pun that Harry didn’t bother reading and a pair of grey jeans. A thin coat covered his shoulders as he rocked back and forth on his worn white sneakers.

            “Oh, Mr Ramon,” Jesse’s voice came from the living room, “I was also wondering wh—”

            Harry grabbed his shoes and shut the door before she could continue. Gesturing in the direction of the car, Harry didn’t bother to put his shoes on until he reached it.

            “Aren’t you cold?” Cisco asked, following behind the other man. Harry shook his head.

            “I do better when it’s cold outside,” he tugged at the laces of his Nikes and pulled the passenger door open.

            “Huh,” Cisco said as he got in from the other side, “I can’t stand the cold.”

            Cisco didn’t live too far from Harry, only a ten-minute ride. It was essentially the same distance as one of Harry’s runs. Cisco kept the window on the other man’s side a little open to let the air in. They’d known each other for a little over a week and Cisco had already learned that Harry enjoyed breathing in the cool night air. It made Harry feel ridiculously happy that the young man had even noticed anything about him without him having to say it.

            “What kind of movies do you like?” Cisco asked. Harry turned his attention to him.

            “Any really,” he replied, “well, except romance or rom-coms. Those are boring. I like older movies.”

            “What, like, no romance at all?” Cisco asked. Harry eyed him suspiciously.

            “Why? Do you have something in mind?”

            Cisco smiled shyly and Harry had a strangely strong urge to just kiss him. With his usually impeccable hair a little fluffed out of place and the oversized jacket falling over his shoulder, Harry thought he looked softer than ever.

            “Ever seen _The Princess Bride_?” Cisco interrupted Harry’s thoughts.

            “Of course I’ve seen _The Princess Bride,_ Ramon,” Harry replied, “it’s a classic.”

            “Good,” Cisco said, “it’s my favourite movie of all time. Ah, is it okay if we watch it again?”

            Harry nodded as they made a turn, coming to a stop soon after. Twisting the keys out, Cisco jumped out and Harry followed. The cool autumnal air nipped at Harry’s exposed skin and he felt refreshed. Glancing over at Cisco, he watched as he scrunched up and stuffed his one of his hands into his pockets while the other hand held his keys, pouting at the cold.

            Cisco’s house was average sized and painted white and brown. The backyard was bare and curtains covered the windows from the inside. As he let them in, Cisco sighed in relief at the warmer temperature inside. Harry kicked off his shoes into a shoe rack and followed behind the other man, hoping not to knock anything over in the dark. A switch clicked on and light flooded the room they were in. It was common looking except for the little bits and pieces of Cisco’s personality that shone through. A few pieces of random papers lay on the black couch at the back of the room, facing a large television. A stand sat at the corner, covered in little figurines of characters Harry didn’t know. On the right of the couch was a shelf filled to the brim with movies and books. They were the same kinds of movies that Harry watched—kind of crappy but with lots of entertainment value.

            The keys jingled as they hit the stand beside the couch. Cisco flopped backwards onto the couch with a sigh and Harry sat beside him, watching as the other man laid back, his eyes closed and a cozy smile on his face. Harry looked away before he couldn’t help but kiss him.

            “Oh,” Cisco jumped up, “I’ll get snacks. See if you can put the movie on.”

            He hurried out the room and turned to the right. As noises of crinkling bags being opened came from the kitchen, Harry grabbed the DVD sitting on the table in front of him and slipped it out. Finding the DVD player, Harry turned on the TV and put the CD in. After a minute of fumbling with settings, Harry managed to get the movie to play. Grabbing the remote beside the TV, Harry paused it as just Cisco came back into the room.

            He carefully carried three bowls filled to the brim, one with popcorn, one with Cheetos, and the last with various candies. Gesturing for Harry to sit, Cisco placed them down and jumped back down onto the couch. Harry turned on the movie and sat down.

            Munching on the snacks, Harry smiled as Cisco quietly muttered along with the quotes. If it was anyone else, he would have found it annoying, but the wide-eyed focus as his mouth moved without thought was exceptionally cute to Harry. He found it hard to pay attention to the movie instead of staring at Cisco.

            “As you wish,” Cisco quoted, turning to Harry with a smile. Harry blushed and shifted to grab a Cheeto.

            “You _really_ like this movie, huh,” Harry said. Cisco nodded enthusiastically.

            “Usually, it’s more of a first-date movie,” he winked, “but I can make an exception.”

            “Oh my, you mean for me?” Harry asked playfully.

            “But of course, who else?” Cisco replied with mock seriousness, picking up Harry’s hand into his own. If the other man’s hands weren’t freezing, Harry would have gone red.

            “Whoa, you’re really cold,” Harry said, wrapping his other hand around Cisco’s. They sat like that for a moment, just staring at each other. The movie played softly in the background and Harry dropped the other man’s hand, breaking eye contact. He smiled sheepishly as he glanced around the room.

            “Sorry,” he managed.

            “No,” Cisco replied quickly, “it’s okay. I am pretty cold, though.”

            With that, they continued to watch the movie—or at least Cisco did. Harry couldn’t focus on anything other than the presence of the younger man beside him. Cisco sat there, rubbing his hands together and bringing them to his mouth to heat them up. Just like always with Cisco, Harry acted without planning.

            “Come here,” he said, “I’ll warm you up.”

            Cisco looked at him, surprise present on his face. Harry immediately regretted offering, his mind racing to find something to say. All they’d done so far was go to a restaurant together. Sure, they’d kissed but it had been brief. Now, Harry was offering to cuddle the other man till he warmed up. _I’m an idiot,_ Harry thought. The shoulder of the other man snapped Harry out of it as Cisco nudged closer. He tilted his head and placed it on Harry’s shoulder. Pulling his knees up, Cisco brought his hands to Harry’s side and the older man tensed briefly at the touch. After a moment of stillness, Harry wrapped his arm around Cisco, pulling him a little closer.

            “Thanks,” Cisco mumbled, “you’re really warm.” Harry merely hummed in response.

            They continued to watch the movie, adjusting every now and then but never breaking contact. By the end, Cisco’s fingers had opened and sat lightly on Harry’s ribs and the side of his face nuzzled into Harry’s chest. As the final scene played and the credits began to roll, Cisco pulled away gently, stretching his arms. He yawned contently and turned to face the other man. Harry remained silent as he stared back. They didn’t say anything and Cisco continued to study Harry’s face. His gaze finally landed on his lips and he licked his own.

            Harry didn’t know exactly who initiated it but they both leaned in till their noses were almost touching. His eyes flicked between Cisco’s as he felt the other man’s hand come up to his jaw. After a breathless second, Harry leaned in and their lips came into contact. It was gentle as they broke apart and came together over and over again. When they finally separated for a breath, Cisco put his hand on Harry’s chest, pushing him down. Harry didn’t resist and breathed softly as he watched Cisco study him. Starting at his jaw, Cisco kissed softly up to his ear and then down his neck. Harry tilted his head back to allow Cisco more space and closed his eyes. At this point, he couldn’t care less about planning before acting.            

            As Cisco moved and leaned back in to connect their lips, Harry slipped his tongue into Cisco’s parted mouth, eliciting a soft moan that sent a shiver through his spine. His hand sat on the crook of the younger man’s neck as he pulled him closer. As Cisco’s hair fell over Harry’s face, he pushed it back, marvelling at the softness of it. As Cisco broke apart and moved his knee up, it rubbed against Harry’s now aroused member. Harry let out an involuntary breathy gasp and Cisco glanced down and back up. After a brief moment of decision making, Cisco moved his leg again, this time creating rougher and more deliberate contact with Harry’s crotch. The older man closed his eyes and bit his bottom lip to stop from moaning, He arched his back to educe more friction.

            As Cisco’s hand reached down, a phone rang loudly beside them. Cisco jumped with a yelp and fell off the couch. Harry felt his heart skip at the noise and the fall. They remained frozen as the ringing continued. As he realized where he was, Harry quickly leaned over to make sure Cisco was okay.

            “Ow…” Cisco moaned from the ground as he reached up to grab the phone.

            “Hello,” Cisco mumbled into the phone, “oh, Caitlin. Can I help you? Mhm, of course. That’s my prep period I can supply. No problem, bye.”

            With a beep, Cisco hung up and dropped the phone back on the table. Silence ensued as both men stared at each other. At this point, Harry’s arousal had lessened and Cisco still remained on the carpeted ground. Immediately, Cisco snorted and both he and Harry erupted into laughter.

            “Oh my god,” Cisco said between chuckles, “that’s embarrassing. Please don’t tell anyone I fell off the couch while making out.”

            “If I told anyone, Ramon,” Harry replied with a smirk, “they’d know it was me who you were making out with.”

            “What do you mean? You could just say you were watching.”

            “Of course, that’s not weird at all.”

            Harry glanced at his watch and his jaw dropped. It was nearly nine o’clock and he’d told Jesse he’d be back in a few hours. Cisco saw his expression and got up.

            “Uh oh,” he said, grabbing the keys, “let’s go.”

            Harry nodded, grabbing a handful of M&M’s before jumping off the couch. He dreaded the thought of having to explain to Jesse why he was so late. Coming up with lies was easy, getting his daughter to believe them was a whole another story. Without tying the laces, Harry slipped on his shoes as Cisco grabbed a jacket and locked the door.

            The night sky was littered with stars and Harry watched as a flashing red light moved across the sky. Cisco tapped his fingers to a song playing on the radio. Harry turned to look at him and smiled.

            “What’s this song?”

            “FACE by BROCKHAMPTON,” Cisco replied, “you should really get into them.”

            Harry watched the headlight illuminated road in front of him as the soft song played in the background. A warm feeling sat in his chest and he found himself smiling.

            “Thanks for tonight,” Harry said, “it was a nice distraction. Sorry I looked like a mess the entire time.”

            “You look cute in sweatpants,” Cisco responded, “and we can finish the last part the next time you come over.”

            Harry blushed and he looked back out the window. He was kind of embarrassed as to how easily aroused he got from just making out. When it came to Cisco, he could act like such a teenager. Another BROCKHAMPTON song started playing as they neared his house and Cisco turned it down, pulling into Harry’s driveway. Before he could push the door open, Cisco grabbed him by the sweater, pulling him in. Waiting for a moment in case Harry felt uncomfortable, Cisco leaned in and kissed him deeply. They sat there for a minute just kissing. Cisco made that same low moan and Harry gently pulled back before he got too into it.

            Saying goodbye, Harry knocked on the door and waited for Jesse to open it. Only a few seconds later, the door swung open and Jesse eyed him suspiciously.

            “What’d you two get up to? It’s really late.”

            “Hello to you as well,” Harry said sarcastically, stepping into the house, “and I already told you, it’s none of your business.”

            Jesse decided to leave it for today and went to her room. Harry didn’t bother cleaning anything up or changing and instead went directly to his room, turned off the lights, and plopped onto his bed. He set an alarm and closed his eyes. Before he fell asleep, he remembered how Cisco’s lips felt on his neck, his jaw, and his lips.


	7. blast from the past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> harry has an emotional awakening and he story continues!

            The students found it unfortunate that the physics test was a day after the midterms but new school board rules to get midterm report cards out a few days earlier had screwed up nearly every teacher’s schedule. Caitlin and Harry sat in the science office complaining about how little time they gave them to adjust their lessons and now they had to deal with the brunt of the student’s frustration. Of course, it didn’t really make a difference if the test mark was inputted before or after the midterms, but students loved to get a lot done before the report cards came out.

            “It’s amazing how throughout high school the students don’t ever learn that we don’t actually live here,” Caitlin said. Harry hummed in agreement.

            “Well,” she continued, “you actually might with how early you get here and how late you stay.”

            Harry rolled his eyes and slightly swivelled back and forth on his chair. It was 8:10 in the morning so he wouldn’t argue. Harry did like getting here early, usually even earlier at 6:00 or 6:30, because it gave him time to finish and prepare everything for what the day entails and also because he loves how the school feels so early in the morning with no one there. Everything is so quiet and calm that the rush of students as school starts is jarring.

            “Speaking of,” Harry spun his chair to face Caitlin, “why are you here so early, Snow?”

            She glanced up at him as she stuffed her mouth with a spoonful of oatmeal. Quickly chewing and swallowing, she placed the empty bowl down on the paper covered table beside her. Her black blazer brushed against a yellow folder as she went to open it. Her outfit looked professional and her hair and makeup looked impeccable. It was annoying to Harry how she managed to look so put together this early in the morning—actually, not just the morning but always.

            “Soccer game today,” she pushed wavy hair out of her face, “I needed Cisco to supply for me since he has that period of. Thought I might as well come here and prepare instructions for him so he doesn’t get lost.”

            Harry’s mind flashed to the night before where he and Cisco lay on his couch with the younger man on top of him, his hair falling over his face as they kissed. He remembered what they were about to get into when Caitlin had called to ask for a supply. Harry looked away, hoping his reddening face wasn’t as visible as it felt. As far as he knew, Caitlin didn’t know they were anything more than colleagues and that Harry had a crush on the other man. Clearing his throat as Caitlin looked at him with a puzzled expression, Harry grabbed a pile of paper on his own desk, hoping it had something to distract him.

            “I’m not sure that you needed to get up so early for a few instructions,” Harry said, flipping through the paper, “but I suppose you can’t be too prepared.”

            She nodded in agreement and collected the mess of papers on her desk. Harry checked the time, hoping it was closer to the beginning of classes than it felt. He told himself it was because his day was quite easy with test review, library time, and assignment marking rather than because he wanted to see Cisco again.

            “What do you think of Ramon?” Caitlin asked casually, tapping a stack of paper on the desk to align them. Harry tensed for a second before breathing out. He couldn’t make it too obvious that he had feelings for the other man.

            “I think he’s a good teacher,” Harry said cautiously, “and he seems like a nice person. What do you think?”

            “I think he’s an absolute angel for taking my class for the day,” Caitlin said with a sigh, “and I think he makes you less cranky.”

            His competitive and argumentative side came out as Harry furrowed his brows and frowned, disproving her point. It was an innocent assumption which was most likely true, but Harry’s heart sped up a little at the thought that Caitlin knew anything about their…situation. Shaking his head, Harry turned around to grab a textbook and photocopies of test review. He said a good-luck for Caitlin’s soccer game and headed to his classroom. Once again, the motion sensors flashed the hallway lights on one by one. As a white light flashed through the double doors at the end of the hall, Harry paused, trying to make out what car it was but it was still too dark to tell. He squinted at the door and nearly went dizzy as they swung open a second later.

            There stood Cisco, his wet hair plastered to his face as he pulled the tote bag hidden under his large black jacket to prevent it from getting soaked. Harry could see him shivering from being pelted by the icy rain outside. It must’ve been raining quite hard if the man had gotten so wet just by walking from his car to the school. He dropped his tote bag onto the ground and shrugged off his jacket gently and dropped it wet-side up on the bag, trying not to get any drops onto the layer of clothing he wore below it. Harry watched in fascination as he pushed his usually fluffy hair back with one hand. It looked sleek and shiny from the rain and Harry could see it already frizzing from drying. Despite it not being perfectly styled with volume and softness, Cisco looked more…handsome. Usually, the word that popped into Harry’s head was “cute” or “beautiful,” but with his dripping hair pushed back, some strands falling into his face, he looked handsome.

            Noticing that he hadn’t moved in quite a while, Harry started walking towards his room and thus towards Cisco. His footsteps elicited the other man to glance up and a smile broke his face. Grabbing the tote bag and jacket, Cisco strolled over to Harry.

            “Hi, Wells,” Cisco said cheerfully, “how was your weekend? Get up to anything fun?”

            Harry laughed as they both turned into his room. Flicking on the light switch, he threw his papers and textbook onto the desk, Harry smirked as he saw Cisco drop his things and push up to sit on the desk closest to the door.

            “I did do something fun,” Harry teased back, “I’m pretty sure I saw you there too.”

            Despite having a slight fear that someone would walk past and see them, Harry walked up to Cisco. The younger man watched him in curiosity as Harry came to a stop in front of him. He studied Cisco’s face which was now at the same height as his due to the desk. A water drop slowly crawled down his temple and Harry reached up to wipe it off. Cisco leaned into the touch and laughed, bringing up his own hands to wrap around Harry’s.

            “Christ, you’re cold, Ramon,” Harry winced at the sudden icy feeling, “what’s your blood pressure like?”

            Harry brought his hands out of the other man’s grasp and instead wrapped his fingers around Cisco’s lightly balled up fist. He brought Cisco’s knuckles to his mouth till they brushed against his nose and lips. Breathing gentle warm air to bring some heat into them, Harry kept his gaze on Cisco’s own dark-brown eyes; he stared back. Softly, Harry placed kisses on his knuckles and couldn’t help but smile as Cisco face broke out into a grin. Caitlin’s voice rapidly rose in volume as she neared the room and Harry yanked back his arms. Cisco fumbled to figure out what to do and stuffed his hands into his pockets, spinning on the desk to face Caitlin. She entered the room and looked up, her voice slowly fading to a stop as she glanced between them.

            “Is everything alright?” She asked suspiciously.

            The men nodded briskly, still not making eye contact with Caitlin. Rolling her eyes, she walked up to them.

            “As I was saying,” her voice tinted with the smallest hint of amusement, “there’s not much to do for my class today since they have a test tomorrow. Just make sure they review instead of wasting time during class.”

            Realizing she was talking to him, Cisco looked at her and nodded, taking the papers she handed him. Turning to check the time on the clock above the computer, Caitlin suddenly quickened her pace.

            “Okay, I gotta go—soccer game. Thank you so much, Cisco, and I’ll see you both tomorrow.”

            Saying goodbye as she walked out of the class, Cisco turned his attention back to Harry.

            “So,” he said awkwardly, “I think we’re going to have to make some rules about this whole thing,” he gestured between them, “in school.”

            “Yeah,” Harry said as he rubbed the back of his neck, “let’s start with kissing.”

            “Let’s,” Cisco replied, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. Harry chuckled. What they had between them wasn’t that serious but that didn’t entail them making out in each other’s rooms whenever they were left alone. Harry dreaded to imagine what looks and comments he would get if they were caught in the middle of something.

            “I, uh, I want to,” Harry paused as he gathered himself, “I want to kiss you—both during school and outside of it. We see each other a lot here, especially since we’re both science teachers, and if I couldn’t kiss you while being so close for six hours a day, I might…lose focus.”

            “So what you’re saying is, we should kiss, but only when we’re definitely in the clear?”

            Cisco thought for a moment, a hand on his chin as he pouted. A second later, his face lit up as he nodded. _Probably—uh—definitely in the clear right now,_ Harry told himself as he leaned forward to give a short kiss. Cisco giggled as Harry broke it and pulled him in again till their faces were only an inch apart. Maybe it was the affectionate look in Cisco’s eyes or the breath-stopping warmth that appeared in Harry’s chest, but the older man closed his eyes and ducked his head to lay soft kisses on Cisco’s neck. Giggling again, Cisco tilted his back and opened his legs to allow Harry to position himself more comfortably. His left arm lay lazily on Harry’s shoulder and his right hand messed with the other man’s hair as he caressed it, humming in delight. Harry kissed up his throat to his jaw and leaned back a little to kiss his lips. Cisco kissed back and they explored each other’s lips once again. They both remained like that for a minute until Cisco couldn’t help but grin against Harry’s lips. He finally pulled back with a laugh.  

            “Okay, okay,” Cisco said as he pushed Harry back, “that’s enough. I would _love_ to stay but I have a class to get ready for.”

            He gestured to his hair with a grimace. “And that means taking care of this rat’s nest.”

            “How dare you,” Harry declared, “it still looks nice. It’s probably less messy than mine now that you’ve finished your head massage.”

            “Your hair is always messy and it’s adorable,” Cisco replied, “It gives a boyish charm. Mine looks like I just woke up and someone dragged me here.”

            With a final ruffle of his hair, Harry checked the time. Twenty-five minutes till class. Thankfully, the entrance to the science wing was used exclusively by the science teachers and very rarely any other teacher so that no students or anyone else came through. If he and Cisco were anywhere else, their little make-out session would’ve been in full display for everyone.

            Cisco blew a quick kiss as he paused at the doorway. His smile was replaced by surprise as he turned to walk away and nearly ran into a student. Harry exhaled sharply to refrain from laughing and Cisco shot him a stern look as he disappeared from his view. In the morning period, Harry didn’t have a class but he still felt the need to work rather than sit and wait till the second period.

            He decided to work on making sure the lessons for his next unit fit well into the adjusted schedule. Surprisingly, it took all period as the ringing of the bell jerked him out of his focused state. The muffling daze that came after a while of pouring all his focus into sheets and sheets of writing made Harry blink until he knew what was happening. _Right, Physics,_ Harry remembered, swivelling on his chair and jumping out of it to grab a large black binder detailing today’s class. He wrote quickly on the board and stepped back to study the goals.

 

  1. Hand in labs
  2. Test Review
  3. Practice Problems
  4. Test Wednesday



 

            “An object at rest can’t have momentum,” a voice came from the doorway as two students entered the classroom, “the factors of momentum are mass and velocity. If there’s no velocity, there’s no momentum.”

            An exclamation of understanding came from the other student as she nodded slowly. They sat down at the row of desks second from the front of the class, stools screeching as they flipped them onto the ground. Harry remembered the noises of complaints he’d heard at the beginning of the semester as the students picked their seats. The stools weren’t a favourite but they were a token only of the science classes. The biology, chemistry, and physics room all had them and at some point during lessons, a few students had to get up and walk around, muttering how their back was going to be a question mark if they didn’t get any back support. The stools were also made of metal and every now and then, an inconspicuous screw fell out. Most science kids had learned how to position themselves to get as comfortable as possible so the complaints had died down quickly.

            “Also,” the same girl, Amy her name was, who was explaining earlier began to speak quietly, “I heard Mrs West is coming back in a few days.”

            Iris West was a grade 9, 11, and 12 English teacher and the wife of the gym teacher, Barry Allen. They were a strange fit with Allen’s energy and—though Harry wouldn’t say it out loud—moments of dim-wittedness and West’s stubbornness and confident attitude. Barry was quite smart as well but more often than not, his tunnel vision made his skull thick. The young married couple had welcomed a baby a few weeks ago and Iris was finally returning. Harry had been around Barry enough (which actually wasn’t that much) to know his anxiety with West returning.

            “That’s too bad,” the other girl, Maya, replied, “I like her but I wanted to stare at Mr Allen without her around for a little longer.”

             Harry rolled his eyes as they both laughed behind him. The five-minute bell rang loudly outside the classroom and soon after the class filled with students—well, as many as his class had. Jesse strolled in holding her large binder like a baby. She went near the back and dropped her stuff with a smack. Harry smiled and Jesse grinned at him in greeting. His small class had already sat down at their desks. The anxiety and exhaustion were present on most of their faces. They all shared essentially the same schedule of two consecutive science classes, Biology and Physics, followed by Advanced Functions or, if they got lucky, Spanish. It wasn’t an easy schedule to juggle by any means and sometimes Harry worried if they were able to handle it. Well—he knew they could handle it but how that affected them mentally was concerning. The students, being in grade 12, had learned how to cope with the stress of university-level courses—especially those that influenced which university they were going to go to. These coping strategies weren’t the healthiest though.

            As the final bell rang, Harry clapped his hands together and watched the chalk dust float off.

            “The lab we did yesterday with the online cart simulation is due today but if you guys need to add something, I’m willing to accept it by the end of the day,” Harry said. Muffled sighs of relief came from the students.

            “Other than that,” Harry put his hands on his hips, trying not to wince as he realized he probably got chalk on them, “all we’re doing today is test review. You can begin now and I’m here to help with anything.”

            Textbooks thumped open and pages ruffled as the students began studying. They were silent at first but soon enough, questions and discussions rose within the small group. Harry smiled lightly as he saw how well they all collaborated together. It always amazed him how much better the students were at group work and coming to an answer together than he was. Harry would much rather figure everything out by himself—he thinks he works better that way.

            Harry remembered that Cisco had a class right now right across his own. _Grade 11 Chemistry,_ Harry thought. The urge to just step out of his own classroom to see the other man was strong. Drawing circles over and over on the smooth, dark surface of the desk, Harry tried to distract himself. Thankfully, someone came up for help.

            “Uh, sorry,” a boy said, “I was just wondering if you could explain why gravitational potential energy is negative outside Earth’s gravitation field.”

            Harry exhaled as he gathered his thoughts and grabbed a small piece of chalk from beside him, turning to face the blackboard.

            “When you increase gravitational potential energy, you are increasing the radius between the object and Earth,” Harry explained as he drew a diagram, “but ultimately, gravitational potential energy will be zero when you’re outside Earth’s gravitational field—or where the radius approaches infinity. So, if you are lifting to where r is infinity and where Eg is zero, you are _increasing_ the gravitational potential energy to zero.”

            “And to increase to zero,” the boy finished for Harry, “you’d have to have a negative value.”

            Harry nodded and placed the chalk aside as he glanced down to see the damage it had done to his dark sweater. _Not too bad,_ he thought. The kid thanked him and returned to his desk, once again burying his face into his notes. Harry waited for twenty more minutes to see if anyone had anymore questions and then turned to his computer. He only had the final page of the test to complete so he decided to leave it for tonight. Instead, Harry scoured the internet for quizzes, articles, and websites that could help them with the test. As faint giggling broke within one of the groups of students, Harry glanced up at the clock. Ten minutes till lunch. It was around this time where students lost any interest or focus in work.

            “Okay,” Harry raised his voice slightly and got up, “make sure you do the textbook questions on the test review and if you find something you can’t figure out, I’m here pretty early before school.”

            A flurry of questions came his way right before class ended and Harry answered them all. A few students, Jesse being one of them, stayed behind after the bell to go over a final concept. As they all left, Jesse walked up to Harry’s desk as he gathered his stuff.

            “Are you ready for the test?” Harry asked, making conversation. Jesse rolled her eyes.

“More importantly,” she replied, “how’s Mr Ramon? Are you two planning anymore dates?”

            Harry’s eyes shot across the room and he glanced behind them in case someone heard. He found it curious how easily his heart rate rose at the mention of Cisco. Harry glared at Jesse who had a smirk present on her face as she crossed her arms.

            “Not here, Jesse,” Harry’s voice was a stern whisper, “bug me at home—not here.”

            Jesse pursed her lips in thought but didn’t retaliate. Instead, she nodded briskly, gave Harry a hug, and hurried to the library. No idea where she had to be so urgently, Harry stared in her direction with furrowed brows and a frown. His face returned to normal as another familiar face came into his line of sight. Cisco looked around the room as he walked up to Harry. The young man placed his hands briefly on Harry’s biceps to push him back a little before letting go and pushing up onto his desk.

            “You know,” Harry said, “you _can_ sit on a chair or something; maybe stand for a bit.”

            “I like being face to face,” Cisco replied as he studied the room, his gaze finally landing of Harry, “plus it’s easier to kiss you like this.”

            Harry smirked and turned his head away, aware that Cisco tilted his head to follow Harry’s motions.

            “I think,” Harry said as he moved closer to Cisco, “I won’t kiss you. There’s probably going to be students here soon enough.”

            Cisco pouted and Harry had to actually refrain himself from kissing the other man. A glint of something flashed in Cisco’s eyes as he leaned forward slowly.

            “Not even a little kiss?” Cisco’s voice was sickly sweet. “Please, Harry.”

            Harry would have rolled his eyes if Cisco hadn’t spread his legs, inviting Harry closer. He looked infuriatingly adorable and as he pushed his now fixed hair behind his ear, Harry had to stop himself from exploring every inch of the man on his desk. Though a sense of caution hung on by a thread at the back of his mind, Harry moved even closer, placing both his hands on Cisco’s thighs. His desk must’ve been higher than the others because he had to look up a little to meet the young man’s eyes. They just stared into each other’s eyes until Cisco finally kissed Harry’s slightly parted and obscenely pink lips. It wasn’t brief but it wasn’t long either. It was messy and clashing with Cisco’s hair getting in the way and Harry’s glasses pushing into the other man, but to them it was perfect. Harry knew that the science wing would fill up with students soon enough and broke it with an exhale. By this point, both men were panting softly, clearly heated.

            Turning away from Cisco to prevent himself from acting on his urges, Harry’s chest tightened and his breath hitched in both surprise and the rush of adrenaline as someone entered the classroom. Barry Allen strolled in, dressed in a red gym shirt and shorts, and beamed at Harry. Though he wouldn’t admit it, the rush Harry felt at the idea that if Barry had come a few seconds before, he and Cisco would have been making out in full view was intoxicating. Barry briefly glanced at Cisco with a puzzled look which transformed to a friendly smile. Cisco nodded stiffly, still sitting on the desk and looking at the floor.

            “Hey, Harry, the man neared them, “how’re you doing?”

            “Good,” Harry’s voice was gruff and low, “what can I do for you?”

            “I was wondering if I could borrow the Chromebooks for period 2 tomorrow,” Cisco noticed Barry’s eyes flash towards him and immediately away, “if you’re not using them.”

            “Yeah, of course,” Harry replied. Barry seemed to either not notice their flushed expressions or chose not to bring that up. They all went silent, the slight buzz of the heating emerging from the back of the class. Cisco decided to chime in.

            “So,” he mentally cheered that his voice wasn’t shaky, “I heard that Mrs West is coming back soon.”

            At the mention of his wife, Barry’s face lit up and Harry stopped himself halfway through rolling his eyes. _Here we go,_ Harry thought. Poor Cisco probably hadn’t had the pleasure of hearing about Iris West as told by Barry Allen.

            “We had our first child just a few weeks ago and she’s been really excited to return to teaching but I still think she should stay home a little longer.” He spoke rapidly. “She’s very stubborn, though, so if she wants to return, she’s gonna return. She teaches English and—oh my god, you haven’t even met her! You have to—you two will definitely get along.”

            Harry stared at Cisco the entire time to gauge his reaction. The younger man being the angel he was listened to the entire spiel with a smile on his face, nodding when he needed to. Barry cut off his speech as he checked his watch, quickly saying goodbye and heading out the door. Harry and Cisco remained still and silent in the jarring silence due to the lack of Barry. Both turning their heads to face each other at the same time, Harry took a deep breath which Cisco mimicked.

            “I don’t know if you picked it up, but they’re married,” the older man said sarcastically.

            “They seem cute,” Cisco replied, “I think it’s endearing he’s so excited to talk about her.”

            This time Harry rolled his eyes without hiding it. _Endearing_ was one word for it—not one Harry would use but it was a word. He suspected Cisco was a lovey-dovey person if he found the West-Allen dynamic cute.

            “It’s kind of annoying,” Harry mumbled, “constantly hearing about how _in love_ they are.”

            “Come on, Harry,” Cisco jumped off the desk and patted down his shirt, “don’t be so grumpy. You should celebrate love!”

            “Aren’t you a romantic,” Harry said monotonously, “don’t tell me I’m going to have to deal with bouquets and chocolate-dipped strawberries, Ramon.”

            “Hm,” Cisco hummed, once again getting close to Harry, “what would you want me to be like?”

            “I enjoy you being you,” Harry said softly, “but then again, I haven’t learned all your bad habits.”

            The younger man laughed brightly and Harry’s chest fluttered. He inhaled sharply as Cisco’s hands firmly set firmly on his sides, his thumbs dragging gently across Harry’s ribs. He tilted his chest down to place his forehead onto Harry’s chest.

            “I’d love to show you all my bad habits,” Cisco mumbled into him, “but alas I have a class to prepare for.”

            With that, he pulled away, dragging his hands down Harry’s sides. A peck on the lips was the only goodbye the older man needed as Cisco walked out of the room, turning at the door to get a final look. Harry’s heart felt light yet heavy at the same time. _I really lucked out,_ he thought. He didn’t know what he’d done for someone like Cisco Ramon to see something in _him_ —grumpy old Harry. A strange feeling rose in him as he thought about how Barry brought up his wife and her loveliness to anyone whenever he could but Harry felt anxious to even be seen too close to Cisco. He wasn’t ashamed of himself and he _definitely_ wasn’t ashamed about Cisco, but he knew the glances and whispers that would follow them if it ever got out. Harry smiled bitterly, knowing Cisco wouldn’t mind. He also knew that telling himself he wouldn’t mind either was a lie. Those whispers and glances didn’t make him ashamed but they did make him angry.

            He’d experienced it before. It was when he was still in high school—back when he was still drinking, smoking, and being immensely angry at the world and himself. Though it had been a while, Harry still remembered it. He was involved with another boy but involved in a way where he refused to kiss him, fearing the shame that would come afterwards. Looking back, Harry tried to understand how the other boy stayed by his side despite all of that. They never kissed, but they touched. They sat together on rocks in the forest behind the boy’s apartment and watched people walk by. He brought cigarettes stolen from his older brother and they would smoke one or two. With legs tangled, Harry used to lean close and feel the breathing and heartbeat of the other boy, wondering the entire time how something that felt so nice was considered wrong—why something so nice brought him shame. They sat like that for hours sometimes, just feeling and talking, and when Harry felt like he was going to break and kiss him all over, he would move away, saying it was time to go somewhere else.

            They were close, of course, and people began to notice. Very rarely did anyone bring it up, fearing the pummelling they would get from Harry. When they did bring it up, usually negatively with “fag” and “queer” involved, Harry delivered. The thrill and sense of joy he got when he saw the enthralled face of the other boy when he fought the pricks that pissed him off was as close to happiness as he got. So, instead of the verbal harassment, people settled for pointed whispers and quick glances. Somehow, to Harry that felt worse than being called names. Every time he returns to those memories, Harry was eternally grateful for his partner back then. He never snapped and called Harry out for being uncomfortable with being intimate; he never tried to force anything. He just stood by Harry’s side and Harry did the same. When the boy had to move away, Harry had cried and cried and got blackout drunk. When he had woken up, the overwhelmingly painful feeling in his chest as he realized they had never kissed was worse than any guilt he would feel if they had. From that point on, he hid his identity. He bottled those feelings and released them in fist-fights and yelling obscenities at other students. Though the boy had left, the glances and whispers remained for a while longer. Harry came to despise them.

            He’d grown and learned and experienced enough that it didn’t bother him as much as it once had, but still, he disliked it. Maybe it was just that it hadn’t happened because he hadn’t met the right person or because those feelings prevented him from meeting the right person, but Harry didn’t get his first kiss with another man—until Cisco. He almost laughed at how wonderful and…okay it was. Though the thought hadn’t occurred to him in years because of Tess, Harry had imagined his first kiss with a man would have resulted in his bottled emotions and teenage scars opening up and crashing out. Not because he would have been ashamed, but because the thought of putting something he had craved so much deep into the recesses of his mind finally happening would have broken him. Instead, it had been…content. After that, Harry didn’t feel anxious about kissing him.

            Harry knew, though, that if Cisco wanted to be…whatever they were without hiding, he would agree. The world had become more accepting but Harry’s mindset was still in the past. However, if it was for Cisco, he was willing to break it. He wasn’t ashamed anymore, just angry. _Then again,_ Harry thought, _that’s not new._  

            “Mr Wells,” a meek voice broke his thoughts, “I just had a couple textbook questions I didn’t know how to do.”

            Clearing his throat, Harry moved to read the questions as the kid flipped open the textbook. They were a system of equations questions and Harry made sure the student followed each step. Nodding slowly as he digested everything, the kid thanked him and headed out the door.

            In the silence, Harry heard Cisco’s words. _You should celebrate love_! It was probably a joke but Harry couldn’t help but feel things about it. Sometimes, the older man wondered how he had become such a complicated mess. … _celebrate love._ Harry didn’t believe it was love between them. It was something more than a crush or infatuation but _love_ was a loaded word. Shaking his head as the five-minute bell rang, Harry searched through his drawer to grab an unfinished project. He kept a lot of them here to fidget with so as to distract himself or pass time.

            Harry finalized his thoughts. He would display a relationship if Cisco wanted because he could deal with anger at the glances and whispers. _Why?_ Harry asked himself. Cisco had brought him happiness and his first kiss with another man. He had brought him nothing but goodness and at that, Harry knew where he stood.


End file.
